The Legacy of Hunters
by Our Eleventh Hour
Summary: Carter Graves and her half-sister are two hunters who run into the Winchester brothers. They work on a job together and are later re-united. But, Carter and Sam have more in common than anyone thought. Rated for language and violence. Season 1 spoilers.
1. The Winchesters

_**The Legacy of Hunters**_

_Chapter One: The Winchesters_

Based on events of Season 1

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize throughout the story I do not own.

Rating: Rated T for violence and language.

**Also, this is AU. Adding onto that point, the timeline is different. In some episodes of Supernatural there are weeks or a month between their hunts. **

None of us is as smart as all of us. ~Ken Blanchard

**Lost Creek, Colorado**

"Dude, check out the size of this freakin' bear."

Carter Graves looked across the room to see two men. One had shaggy brown hair and was bent over a map of the area and the other had short, dark hair and wore a leather jacket. The dark haired one was looking at a picture on the wall. She raised an eyebrow but didn't comment and instead decided to stay beside her older half-sister, Lily Tipton.

"There are a dozen or more grizzlies in the area." The shaggy haired guy said, walking to stand beside the other man.

"Definitely not a nature hike, then."

"You boys don't plan on going near Blackwater Ridge, do you?" another man said, appearing almost out of nowhere. He wore a light green hat and a jacket; he also had a mug in his hand. Carter inconspicuously nudged her twenty-one year old sister. Blackwater Ridge had had many disappearances recently, which was exactly why Carter and Lily were in Colorado.

The two men by the picture turned around and the shaggy haired one said, "Oh, no sir. We're Environmental study majors from UC Boulder. Just workin' on a paper."

_What a load of crap._ Carter resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead looking at her half-sister. Lily's attention was focused on the shaggy haired man. For a few seconds it was like he was the only guy in the room, then the man beside him cleared his throat.

"Recycle, man." Guy number two commented, holding out a fist.

"Bull." The man with the mug told them, walking over to his desk. The two men shared a quick look. "You're friends with that Hailey girl, right?"

Lily suddenly stepped forward, "Yes sir, we are." All three men turned towards the two girls.

The park ranger crossed his arms and said, "Well I'll tell you exactly what I told her. Her brother filled out a form saying he wouldn't be back until the twenty-fourth. So it's not exactly a missing person's since it's only the twenty-second. Now you tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother and his friends are fine." He shuffled a few papers on his desk and drank from his mug.

The short haired man said, "That Hailey's quite a pistol, huh?"

"That's putting it mildly."

"You know, if I could show her that form I'm sure it'd calm her down some. Seeing her brother's return date and all."

_Crap, we should of thought of that._ The fourteen year old scolded herself mentally. The ranger nodded his head and got the appropriate papers. After handing them over to the two men, the four left the building.

Carter adjusted her red baseball cap and watched as Lily started talking to the two men.

"I'm actually going over to Hailey's right now," Lily started off with a small smile, "Since I'll already be over there do you care if I take the form? I mean, so you don't have to go out of your way and all."

"Sweetheart," the dark haired man smiled back, "I know you're not friends with Hailey and you know I'm not friends with Hailey. So why don't you just tell me what you're doing here."

Carter considered just grabbing the paper and making a run for it, but the man had already placed it in his jacket pocket. So, she tried a different approach. "We're not friends with Hailey, but we are friends with her brother. Lily here is actually his girlfriend. But Hailey and Lily don't get along all that well—"

"What's his name?" Shaggy hair guy asked.

"How about you tell me?" Rule number seven: In times of confusion, answer a question with a question. Over the years, Carter had compiled a list of rules. None were written down, though. Originally, the rules were written down on a piece of paper that the teen took with her everywhere. Now, though, she knew the rules well enough that she'd burned it with a candle so it was just a pile of ashes.

"Without looking at the form." Lily tacked on, crossing her arms.

"Screw this," the dark haired man rolled his eyes in annoyance and walked over to a black car. "Come on Sam."

The shaggy haired guy, Sam, went over to the passenger side and glanced at the Lily's car, a blue Mustang. He did a double take towards the trunk and said, "Dean, they're hunters."

"You know about hunting?" Lily questioned cautiously. Carter looked at her sister's car and saw the Devil's Traps etched into the doors of the car. It wasn't very big, only about as big as her palm. Sam and Dean returned to stand before the two girls.

"Demons, Werewolves—" Dean started off.

"Vampires, Shape-shifters, and all kinds of other bumps in the night." Lily said with a relieved look. "Wow, this'll be so much easier. So I take it you guys know there's a case here with this Hailey girl and her missing brother."

Sam answered, "Actually, we're looking for our dad. He left us some coordinates and they lead to Blackwater Ridge." Carter looked between the two guys and saw a slight resemblance. Despite having different eyes and hair, there was something in their faces that looked alike.

"A friend of ours sent us here, she said something about a hunt."

"But we're not on a hunt," Sam said slowly, "We're looking for our dad."

"Just hold on a sec, Sammy." Dean told him. "This can't be a coincidence. Dad sends us here and we run into two other hunters, it's got to be a case. We should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it, Sam."

"How about this," Lily cut off Sam's reply, "We go and talk to this Hailey girl, see what she knows. If it's a case we can work together, if not we'll see ya' around."

The two men shared a look and nodded in unison.

The drive to Hailey Collins's house wasn't that long. When the two cars pulled up to the house, Carter was instructed to stay in the car. Like always.

"Completely unfair," she muttered as she watched Lily, Sam, and Dean go inside as a curly haired woman let them in. Just because she was too young to pull off being a detective or any other kind of job she had to stay in the car. Every. Time.

About forty-five minutes later, the trio emerged from the home. "Finally," Carter mumbled. Sam and Dean went into their car and Lily into the Mustang. "Well?" she prompted.

"We'll talk about it at the diner; we're eating with Sam and Dean." Lily stated, starting the engine and putting the car into drive before following the black car containing the two men.

When the four hunters parked at Little Red's Diner, they entered the building together and sat in the back corner with Sam and Dean facing the door and Lily and Carter facing the boys. After ordering three coffees and a Dr. Pepper, Carter didn't like coffee, the oldest hunters filled Carter in on what they had learned at Hailey Collins's house.

"Her brother hasn't checked in with her and her other brother in three days." Lily told her sister, "Tommy, the guy who's missing, sent a video to her four days ago and Sam caught a shadow in the background. So there's definitely something out there."

"Hailey and her younger brother have also taken it upon themselves to go into the woods with a guide to find Tommy." Dean added, "I'm thinking we meet up with them tomorrow morning so they don't get themselves hurt."

Carter cleared her throat, "And how exactly are we going to explain why I'm there?"

Dean raised an eyebrow at the fourteen year old, "Shouldn't you be in school or something? How old are you, thirteen?"

"F.Y.I., Dean, I'm fourteen. And no I shouldn't be in school out here when I live in Tennessee." The teen replied heatedly.

"So you guys live in one place, you don't travel?" Sam asked sounding genuinely interested.

Lily nodded, "Yeah, we live with my Aunt Maria in Tennessee. I decided to take Carter with me since she was having some trouble at school." The older sister turned a pointed look at the youngest hunter. "Which I still don't understand completely myself."

Carter shrugged and looked away, "It was one fight."

Just then the waitress walked by and told the four, "Sorry, but the food's going to be a little while longer. We have a new cook."

Once she'd left Sam pulled out a laptop and began researching. When the waitress brought them their drinks Carter flicked her crumbled up straw container at her sister.

"Quit!" Lily laughed when the straw container hit her in the nose. "So, find anything interesting Sam?"

Sam nodded, "Listen to this, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic. Local campers, mostly. But, this past April two hikers went missing out there, they were never found. In nineteen-eighty-two, eight hikers also went missing. Rangers blamed it on a grizzly attack. And again in nineteen-fifty-nine and again in nineteen-thirty-six."

"Every twenty-three years." Lily stated.

"Just like clockwork," Sam nodded. He went back to typing on his laptop and continued to even when the waitress brought their food. Sam got a weird look on his face and said, "Hey, watch this." He pointed to the screen for his brother to see. "Right there. You see that?"

"Is that the shadow you saw?" Dean asked, his mouth full of hamburger.

"Gross." Lily commented, making Carter hold back a laugh.

"Yeah," Sam continued, "It only happened in a fraction of a second. Whatever it is, it's fast."

Unexpectedly, Dean slapped his brother's shoulder, "Told you something weird was goin' on!"

"I've got one more thing," Sam clicked away on his laptop a few more times before closing it. "In 'fifty-nine, only one person survived. He was just a kid, barely crawled out of the woods alive."

Dean made Sam eat then the four went out to the cars. Deciding to split up, Carter and Lily went to book two hotel rooms while Dean and Sam interviewed the only survivor.

Lily had given Sam and Dean her cell phone number at the diner and Dean gave her his, so when she had the rooms Lily called Dean and gave out the information.

Carter flung herself onto one of the two beds in the motel room and stared at the ceiling. It was another hour and a half before there was a knock on the door. By then it was eleven at night and Carter was bored to tears. She answered the door, gun in hand, and let in the two brothers. "Did you talk to the survivor?" the fourteen year old questioned, closing the door as Sam and Dean entered. She put the gun back on safety and put it on the nightstand by her bed.

"He was hesitant to talk to us at first, but he eventually told us what happened." Sam admitted.

"Lily! Sam and Dean are back!" Carter half-shouted through the bathroom door where her sister was getting dressed after her shower. "You'd better wait to tell us, she'll kill me if we don't wait."

Several minutes later found Carter sitting cross-legged on her bed, Lily with a towel wrapped around her head standing beside Sam, and Dean leaning against one of the walls.

"So," Sam started off, "Mr. Shaw, the survivor, told us it was too fast to see and that it roared. It came at night and got inside his family's cabin."

Dean picked up where his brother left off, "It also unlocked the door. Didn't break the door or go through a window. Drug his parents out the cabin and left him alive. Guy's got a four-claw scar on his shoulder, too. Not very pretty."

"Skin-walker?" Carter suggested, "It's fast, right? Maybe a black dog?"

"Something like that," Dean straightened up and looked at his brother before saying, "Alright Sammy, let's get to bed. I suggest you two do the same," he added, inclining his head towards the Graves girls. "We've got an early start in the morning."

Once Sam and Dean had received their room key from Lily, they left. Carter and Lily went to sleep like Dean had recommended, both hoping that all went well the next morning.

**a/n: So for those of you that have read the original Legacy of Hunters series, I'm obviously doing a rewrite and starting at Season 1 instead of Season 3. There are a lot of major changes.**

**Please review, tell me what you think. I'm writing chapter 22 now so…*thumbs up*. I figured it'd be okay to start posting a chapter once a week. Next update on Friday.**


	2. Wendigo

_**The Legacy of Hunters**_

_Chapter Two: Wendigo_

**I wrote two chapters today so I decided it couldn't hurt to post a 'bonus' chapter. Enjoy chapter two! Chapter three will be on Friday.**

**Lost Creek, Colorado**

Carter pulled on a pair of basketball shorts and an old t-shirt before leaving the bathroom after her shower. An hour ago Dean had knocked on the hotel door and informed the sisters they'd be leaving at seven. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, Carter saw it was 6:33. She stretched her arms out, wincing as a sharp pain ripped through her left shoulder blade.

"You okay, Car?" Lily asked, concern lacing her voice.

The teenager nodded, "I just slept wrong or something, no big deal. Are we eating at the diner or what?"

As she packed her bag Lily replied, "No, I think Dean said we'd grab something from a gas station before driving over to Blackwater. Hailey's expecting us around eight so we should be good."

Holding back another wince, Carter gathered her belongings from around the room and replaced them in her black duffel. She and her sister were used to traveling with only one duffel each and a weapons bag. Though she did have to admit their weapon supply wasn't as impressive as Sam and Dean's. Carter had seen Dean open the trunk of his Impala at the diner the previous night, she was just glad there weren't any civilians around at the time.

At seven o'clock, the four were in the Impala, Sam said it would save the girls gas money, and were driving towards a gas station. Once Dean had paid for gas and had bought a large bag of M&M's and Lily had paid for some breakfast items, the group made their way to Blackwater Ridge.

At first there was silence besides the noises of the hunters eating breakfast. Then, Dean turned on his music. Carter agreed that a few songs were okay, but eventually she dug out her own mp3 player and listened to it.

Eventually, the Impala arrived where Hailey said she would meet them at. But, she wasn't alone. A boy, who Carter guessed was her younger brother by the way he stuck beside her and the fact they looked a lot alike, and a man were shouldering their backpacks when the hunters left the car.

"Who are these guys?" the man asked, eying them critically.

"Apparently these are all the rangers could round up for the search and rescue." Hailey said a bit icily. "Thanks for coming."

"You're rangers?"

Dean inclined his head in agreement, "That's right."

Hailey raised an eyebrow, "And you're hiking in biker boots and jeans?"

Carter bit back a laugh as Dean replied, "Oh, sweetheart I don't do shorts."

"Who's the kid?"

Lily stepped in and stated, "She's my younger sister. Our parents are out of town and she's home schooled so I decided to take her along with us since I couldn't find anyone to watch her."

"Not that I need watching since I'm fourteen." Carter inserted but no one listened.

"Listen, lady, this isn't a place for kids." The man said, his arms crossed. "I have to keep everyone's safety in mind and honestly I think Ben and your sister are going to be much safer at home. It's dangerous back country out there.

"It's not like I've never hiked before, dude." Carter told him, obviously annoyed.

Lily sent her sister a quick look telling her to shut up and said, "She'll be fine. She's been hiking since she was eight."

"If you're finished, we'd like to find Tommy Collins." Dean said, already walking away from the gravel area for parking vehicles.

The group began walking, the guide, Roy, in the lead with Dean and Hailey right behind him, Sam and Lily talking quietly and bringing up the rear, and Ben and Carter in the middle. Carter recognized the tactic of putting the youngest members of the party in the middle. Any time she would go hunting with older hunters she somehow got put in the center. It was some sort of safety precaution. Most predators went for the weaker members, in most cases the young or the elderly.

"So you're home-schooled?" Ben asked, gripping the straps of his backpack with his hands.

Carter nodded and spilled out a quick lie, "Yeah. Private school's too expensive and Mom thinks public schools are lead by gang kids or something."

The boy cracked a little smile, "Nice."

The two teens came to a quick stop when Roy jerked Dean back by the collar of his jacket. Dean gave him a look but before he could say anything Roy told him, "Watch your step." Carter looked around Hailey to see Roy take a stick from the ground and poke at a pile of leaves. A loud snap and Roy moved on, tossing the stick to the side. The guide smirked and walked ahead.

"Bear trap." Dean said, rubbing the back of his neck and following Roy.

Carter rolled her eyes and continued the hike beside Ben.

A few minutes later, Hailey grabbed Dean and spun him around. "You didn't pack any provisions…and you're only carrying a duffel bag so who the hell are you? You're obviously not rangers." Everyone behind Dean and Hailey stopped. Carter saw Ben sigh and step around his sister and the oldest Winchester. Dean looked past the woman in front of him and behind Carter. She assumed the hunter was sharing a silent look with Sam and Lily. Turning her head around, she saw the two give short nods.

"Come on Car," Lily said as she and Sam walked by. Carter followed her sister and the youngest Winchester to where Ben and Roy had stopped around a large, fallen tree. Roy raised an eyebrow and Lily stated, "They need to talk over a couple things. They'll catch up in a moment."

Nodding, Roy leaned against a nearby tree and watched the area.

Eventually, Hailey and Dean caught up and Roy began forward again. After about another half hour of hiking, Roy announced, "Alright, this is Blackwater Ridge."

"What coordinates are we at?" Sam questioned, glancing around.

"Thirty-five minus one eleven." Roy answered after checking a technological device from his pocket. Sam nodded in response.

Carter suddenly got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. The youngest hunter walked over to Dean, the only other hunter not talking to a civilian, and asked, "Do you hear that?"

Dean stood still for a few seconds before nodding and going over to his younger brother. They conversed almost silently and Carter knew they were on the same page: it was too quiet in a place surrounded by insects and animals.

"Think I'm gonna go take a look around," Roy said, his gun hanging limply in his right arm.

"You shouldn't go off by yourself." Sam said, still looking around the woods.

Roy gave another smirk, "That's sweet, don't worry about me." Still smirking, he continued past the brothers and deeper into the forest. Carter saw Sam and Dean share a look before following the guide. Hailey and Lily talked in quiet whispers and trailed behind the men. Carter did notice Lily wasn't giving her full attention to whatever their conversation was about and the oldest sister's gaze was constantly flickering.

"Coming?" Ben questioned. It took Carter a second to realize he was talking to her; it took her another second to realize she was now at the end of the group.

"Yeah, sorry dozed off I guess." The fourteen year old gave a small smile and joined Ben.

The uneasy feeling lingered in Carter's stomach all the way until she heard Hailey say in disbelief, "Oh my God."

Her head snapped up and Carter took in the campsite. Well, what used to be a campsite. There was a tent half ripped to shreds with blood covering the top and where the entrance should have been. Items were scattered along the forest floor, things ranging from sleeping bags, a cooler, a few backpacks, and other unidentifiable objects.

Ben turned his head around in several directions. Carter winced in sympathy knowing what was probably going through his head at the moment.

"Tommy?" Hailey suddenly called out. She went to the center of the 'campsite' and took off her backpack, "Tommy!"

"Sh!" Sam ordered firmly but gently, going over to her. "Whatever did this might still be out there."

"'Whatever'?" Roy commented loudly, "Son, this was definitely a Grizzly bear."

Lily stepped in and replied for the youngest Winchester, "Well maybe Yogi's still hanging around so I suggest we stop shouting."

Dean grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him over so the group was out of earshot. Carter looked at Ben and questioned, "You okay?"

The boy shook his head slowly, "Not really."

Carter wasn't the type to comfort people. Sometimes she said the wrong thing at the wrong time. For example, on the last case she worked with Lily the client was a woman with twelve cats. One of her cats had been killed by some witch doing a ritual. While the woman was crying her eyes out over Mr. Fluff, Carter simply told her she could go and buy a new cat. The response wasn't the worst Carter could have said, but it did send the woman into another round of harsh crying.

The fourteen year old decided to say nothing at all and awkwardly patted the boy on the back. Luckily, Hailey found her way to her younger brother and Carter was able to leave them alone. She decided to meet up with Lily and the Winchesters.

"The bodies were dragged away from the site." Dean informed them, "But over here, the tracks just vanish." He pointed with his hand to an area where the dirt was disturbed.

"That's weird." Lily inserted slowly.

"Knocks out black dog and skin walker." Sam stated as the four made their way back to the Collinss'. Hailey was knelt on the ground, holding a crushed cell phone. Dean walked over to her and said something. Carter hung around the edge of the campsite, trying to find a hint of something to help them figure just exactly what was going on in Blackwater Ridge, Colorado.

"Help!" a male voice sounded off in the distance. Carter spun around to face the others and saw they had heard it too. "Help!"

Dean pulled out a pistol at the same time as Roy cocked his own gun. The entire hiking party took off in the direction of the male's voice, Ben and Roy dropping their packs and Sam leaving the duffel he carried. They ran until the voice stopped.

"It sounded like it was coming from here, didn't it?" Hailey voiced, looking around in every direction.

"I think we should get back to camp, guys." Lily said. The group gave an unspoken agreement and hurried back to the campsite. Upon arrival, they noticed one thing.

"Our packs are missing." Ben stated the obvious, "They were right here!"

Roy sighed and went to the center of the camp, "So much for my GPS and satellite phone."

"What the hell's going on here?" Hailey half-shouted angrily.

Sam, arms crossed, answered, "It's smart. It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help."

Roy gave a humorless laugh, "You mean someone. Some sick nut job just stole all our gear."

"Can I talk to you in private?" Sam asked his brother before the two walked off.

Hailey, Ben, and Roy were roaming around the center of the camp when Carter asked her sister, "So what do you think is doing this?"

Lily shrugged and re did her blond pony-tail. "I dunno, to be honest. Maybe Sam and Dean came up with something."

The teenager nodded and went to the spot where the Winchester brothers were talking, Sam holding a leather book.

"Any ideas?" Carter questioned as she approached the two men. Sam opened the book to a specific page and handed it over to the teenager. On the right side of the book was a list of symbols and writing she couldn't understand due to the fact it looked a bit rushed. And on the left there was a bold picture of something that resembled a man and the page was full of chicken-scratch writing. But the one thing that Carter was able to read was: Wendigo.

She raised an eyebrow, handing the book back to Sam. "Don't they hang around Minnesota and Michigan?"

"You just missed that argument, Carter." Dean laughed, "I think Sammy's right, though. The mimicry and the freakin' claws point to Wendigo."

"Fantastic." The teen muttered sarcastically, turning around and making her way to Lily. The youngest hunter filled her sister in and was met with Lily groaning. If there was one supernatural creature Lily hated above anything else, it was Wendigoes based on the fact they were excellent hunters.


	3. The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

**Sorry this update wasn't posted this morning but I just found out my uncle died so things have been busy add that to the fact I had a friend over to work on a Chem project and it's been a busy day.**

_The Legacy of Hunters_

_Chapter Three: The Hunters Become the Hunted_

**Blackwater Ridge, Colorado**

"Guns are useless, then." Lily stated with a sigh as she, Dean, Sam, and Carter stood in a small circle away from Ben, Hailey, and Roy.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, arms crossed over his chest.

"Which means we've got to get these people out of here…now." The youngest Winchester said seriously, already turning and returning back to the non-hunters. "Alright guys," he said when everyone was back at the destroyed campsite. "We need to leave."

Hailey looked at the hunters with disbelief and anger, "What?"

"Things have gotten complicated, Hailey." Lily informed the young woman with a touch of sympathy.

Roy motioned towards himself, "I can handle whatever's out there, don't worry about yourselves."

"It's not us we're worried about." Sam told him, constantly glancing around. If Carter didn't know any better, she would have said the man was a completely paranoid lunatic. "You shoot this thing, it's just gonna get angry. We have to leave, now."

The guide shook his head, "You're talking nonsense, ranger." He said the word as if it were meaningless to him. "And, you are in no position to be giving orders."

"Everyone just relax," Dean demanded calmly, but it fell on deaf ears.

"We never should have let you come out here in the first place. We're just trying to protect you."

Roy gave a humorless laugh and moved forward, leaning in and getting in Sam's face. "You? Protect me? I was huntin' in these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight."

"Yeah? Well, this thing's a perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and faster. And stronger. And it'll hunt you down unless we get your stupid-ass out of here." Sam said slowly and matter-of-factly. The oldest man of the group shoved Sam in the chest and made him step back just a step. Carter was surprised Sam didn't shove back; then again it wasn't that much in his character from what she could tell.

"Stop!" Hailey ordered, pushing the two guys away from each other, "Just stop. Look, Tommy could still be out there and I'm not leaving without him."

The four hunters shared a look with one another.

Dean finally stepped up and said, "It's getting late. This thing's a good hunter in the daylight but an even greater hunter at night. We need to set up a site somewhere soon."

The group eventually moved out and found a big enough area to fit all of them.

"Lily, Hailey, and Roy, you guys mind settin' up tents and gettin' a fire going?" Dean asked in a way that was more of an order than a request. Hailey nodded and the three went to work. "Sam, we'll work on protection."

"What about us?" Carter asked when Dean had pulled out the leather book Sam had been holding earlier. Dean raised an eyebrow and Carter held back an irritated sigh. "What do you want Ben and me to do?"

Dean thought for a moment before replying, "Stay out of trouble. I don't care if you sing campfire songs or roast marshmallows."

His brother added, "Don't leave camp."

"Thanks, guys. Thanks a lot." Carter told them sarcastically, crossing her arms and resisting the urge to yell in frustration and anger. She found Ben sitting against a tree watching Hailey and Lily put up the tents, which they had retrieved from Tommy's campsite and rinsed the blood out with water from a nearby creek, while Roy gathered firewood. The fourteen year old sat beside him, "Is it just me or are we being treated like we're five?"

Ben gave her a small smile, "This is usually how I'm treated at home with Hailey and Tommy. It's just because we're the youngest of the group."

"Doesn't make if fair."

"No one said life was fair, Carter." The older boy pointed out before they fell into a comfortable silence.

When the sun went down and the moon came up, the party split up and did their own things. Roy was against a tree with his gun in his lap, looking around. He was still skeptical about the Wendigo that Dean had told the group about and was looking for bears or people. Hailey and Ben were on a log next to the fire, talking and occasionally laughing quietly. Sam and Lily were talking together across the fire from the Collins's log. Carter was inspecting Dean's Anasazi symbols and Dean was making sure Carter kept inside the circle of symbols.

"It's not like I'm going to run off and wait for the Wendigo to attack me, Dean." Carter told him impatiently. "I'm not stupid."

"Never thought you were, Carter." The twenty-one-six year old replied honestly.

The black-haired girl turned around to face him, "Then why won't you let me help? I'm not some helpless kid that needs everyone to do everything for her. Hell, if you would have let me gather firewood I would have been perfectly fine!"

The older hunter took a moment to answer, "There just wasn't anything for you to do, I guess. Hailey needed something to take her mind off of her brother. Roy needed to be out from under our feet. And Lily seems to be getting along with Hailey so maybe that would calm her down some. Ben seemed to be doing alright with everything, so I thought you two would probably talk or something since neither of you had anything else to do."

She nodded slightly, "I guess it makes sense. Still, I could have helped draw the symbols."

"How many times have you drawn the Anasazi symbols?"

"Not many."

"Now, try sharing one book with fifteen different symbols between three people."

"Oh."

Dean gave her a small smile.

Carter sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, "Sorry I kind of blew up on you…."

"Don't worry about it."

The two went to their siblings and found Sam sitting away from the others, playing with a small stick and Lily discussing some movie with the Collins'. Dean walked over to his brother and the two began talking while Carter stared out into the woods, waiting for any sign of movement.

Carter had grown up among the hunter community. Her father, Eric Graves, had been a hunter since he was a kid. Isaac Graves, her grandfather, had been a hunter. As had her great-grandfather, and his father, and his father, etc. Instead of receiving a bed time story, her dad made her recite a Latin exorcism three times. While other children believed in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, Carter believed in things she'd actually seen, including ghosts, werewolves, and shape-shifters. When Hilary Tyson had invited Carter to a birthday party, Carter had had to reject the invitation due to her father taking her to celebrate her own ninth birthday. His way of celebration was for Carter to be taken on her first hunt.

"Help me! Please!" The shouting pulled Carter from her thoughts. She felt her sister come up behind her and grab her arm, pulling her away from the edge of the symbols.

Everyone made somewhat of a circle and carefully looked around. Roy and Sam had flashlights and were shining them around while Dean cocked a shotgun.

"Help!"

"It's trying to draw us out," Carter said when she saw the look of pure confusion on Ben's face. "Just stay calm."

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy said, voice laced with the fact that he didn't believe anything the hunters had told them about Wendigos.

"Heelp! Heeelp me! Please!"

There was the sound of a roar and the voice cut out. Carter and Lily simultaneously pulled out guns from their jackets and pointed the weapons in front of them. Roy had his rifle held out, looking for something to aim at. "That is definitely no grizzly," he admitted with fear.

"You'll be okay, I promise." Hailey told her brother. Carter didn't turn to look at the siblings but figured they had gone to the center of the circle since they weren't armed.

Movement to her right made the sisters aim to their right but they held their fire. When a gunshot went off, Carter looked to her left to see Roy shooting. A sound of pain and Roy yelled, "I hit it!" before running out of the circle.

"Roy! No!" Dean hollered, he told the others "Don't leave the circle!" and ran after the guide, Sam going with him.

"Carter, go where Dean and Sam were standing so we've got two fronts covered." Lily ordered, "Hailey, Ben, just stay away from the symbols and in the circle."

The fourteen year old moved to where the two brothers had been only moments ago and swallowed. She heard Lily's gun go off once, twice, three times. Snapping twigs, crunching leaves, and movement made Carter shoot her own weapon two times.

"Help!" the voice this time was different, but still male.

"Tommy?" Ben half-shouted, "Tommy!"

"Ben get back here!" Hailey hollered as Carter felt the boy run past her position.

"Ben!" Carter yelled, "Shit!" She took a second pistol from her jacket and went after him.

"Carter get your ass back here!" she heard her older half-sister demand, but the fourteen year old ignored her.

"Ben!" Carter yelled again, there was no point in being quiet. Chances were the Wendigo knew exactly where she was. She knew what she was doing was completely stupid, but Ben was defenseless. At least when Roy ran off he had a gun and experience. Ben was a kid not much older than herself and the least she could do was try to keep him alive.

"Tomm—"the boy's yell was cut off and he was no longer in Carter's sight.

Swallowing, the teenager ran to where he had disappeared and spun in a circle two times before she felt something grab her and jerk her up. A moment later and her world went black.

"Carter get your ass back here!" Lily shouted as her sister ran off. "Damn it!" Noises ahead made Lily prepare to fire. Luckily for Sam and Dean, she didn't fire just yet.

"It's us!" Sam said quickly. Lily put her weapon facing the ground.

"Where's Roy?"

Dean and Sam shared a look and Lily received the message.

The brothers looked past Lily and to a devastated looking Hailey before Sam groaned, "Please don't tell me…."

The oldest sister nodded, "Just a few seconds before you two showed up."

"Well what the hell are we sitting around here for?" Hailey demanded, "My brother just ran off and some…some thing is out there!"

"As much as I hate to say it, it'll be safer if we wait until morning." Sam sighed, glancing between the two women. "We'll just get ourselves killed going out tonight. Besides, we don't even know where to start looking."

"Looking?"

Dean nodded, "Have you ever heard the legends of the Wendigos?" When Hailey shook her head Dean continued, "They were once men. During a harsh winter he finds himself cut off from supplies or help and becomes a cannibal to survive."

His brother picked up from there, "Certain parts of the world believe that eating human flesh gives you abilities: strength, speed, and immortality. If you eat enough of it, you become this…less than human thing. And you're always hungry."

"Which means," Lily said, "These things sort of store up food, hibernate. When they're awake, they hunt. Right now, I say Roy, Carter, and Ben are all wherever this thing's holed up at. Tommy and his friends may even be with them, we can't be sure."

"So how do we find it and kill it?" Hailey asked, her voice slightly shaky.

Dean answered by saying, "Wendigos keep their victims in places that are dark and hidden. To kill this sonuvabitch, we gotta torch him." He went over to the supplies they had gathered from Tommy's demolished campsite and pulled out several items.

Hailey protested, but the hunters were finally able to convince her to get some sleep. Lily stayed up, constantly staring out into the woods until the brothers suggested she get some sleep, too. Dean kept watch for a few hours and later woke his brother up so he could get some shut eye himself. The three hunters switched positions until morning.

The party of four began their search as soon as the sun was up and everyone was ready to go.

"This is too obvious." Sam said when they had once again found a bloody claw mark on a tree. "The marks are clear and distinct, too easy to follow."

"I agree." Lily stated, "Trap."

Almost as soon as she'd said the word, something ran by them. The hunters pulled out their weapons just as something fell to the ground. Hailey ducked out of the way and Sam helped her up before turning to see the dead body of Roy.

"Broken neck." Dean informed them. Before they knew it, they were all running from the Wendigo.


	4. Here I Come to Save the Day

Sorry for late post, FF hasn't let me post anything for about a week now. This chapter dedicated to Kazamigorical who thankfully told me how to post when the dreaded 'Error 2' message comes up. If anyone else is having trouble with this, PM me and I'll help ya out.

_**The Legacy of Hunters**_

_**Chapter Four: Here I Come to Save the Day**_

**Blackwater Ridge, Colorado **

Carter awoke to a painful throb in her arms and someone tapping her face. Peeling her eyes open, the fourteen year old barely registered the fact that Lily was standing in front of her.

"Come on Car, wake up." Lily was saying, Carter almost missed the small desperation in her voice. "That's it, come on."

She looked past her sister and saw Dean, Ben, and another figure hanging from the ceiling by their arms in what looked like a cave. Carter lifted her head to look up and saw she was in the same situation as the other three. "Wha' happened?" She asked before putting the pieces together. "Oh, never mind."

"How'd you find us?" Ben asked, the poor kid sounded scared to death.

Sam, who had been cutting down the unknown figure with Hailey, went to working on releasing Ben while explaining, "This morning when we came looking for you two, Dean and Hailey got captured. But, Dean had a pack of M&M's he bought from that gas station and it led the way here to an old miner's cave. Like Hansel and Gretel."

"No comment, dude." Dean gave a short laugh before wincing in pain as the movement jostled his arms.

When everyone was down, Hailey hovered around Ben and the unknown figure, a guy. He was awake and able to move. Carter guessed this was Tommy, Ben and Hailey's older brother. The fourteen year old sat against the cave wall and stretched her arms, causing her to wish she hadn't due to the pain that flared through them.

"God, you had me scared Car." Lily admitted, sitting beside her younger sister. "Ever do that again and I swear I'll never let you hunt again."

Carter gave a little smile, "Yeah, I know."

Lily wrapped an arm around the teen and squeezed slightly.

"Check it out," Dean suddenly called out. Everyone's attention flew to the oldest Winchester to find him holding two flare guns and standing beside the bags that had been stolen the previous day.

"That'll work." Sam shrugged with a smile, standing up beside his big brother.

"Everyone good enough to walk?" Lily asked those who'd recently been on menu for the Wendigo.

"Tommy'll need help." Hailey said, "But I think Ben and I are okay and can handle him."

Dean replied, "I'm fine."

"Same here." Carter told her sister.

So, with Ben and Hailey assisting their brother, the party made their way through the caves, on the look out for the Wendigo. When a loud roar was heard, they knew the Wendigo had discovered its missing dinner.

"We'll never out run it." Hailey stated, readjusting her hold on Tommy.

The Winchester brothers shared a look and Dean asked, "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Yeah, I think so." Sam nodded.

Dean took off one way and began yelling, "Come on you freaky bastard!" and other taunts to draw the thing his way. When Dean disappeared from sight, Sam led the group onward.

They went as fast as they could through the cave. Carter had to wonder a few times if Sam had any idea exactly where they were going, but decided not to mention it. Every once in a while she would hear distant shouting. One time she could have sworn the shouting was talking about ketchup and mustard, but wasn't positive.

When the group reached a fork in the mineshaft, Carter heard what sounded like growling. "Guys, I think we have company."

"Lily, take them back that way." Sam ordered, already looking for signs of the Wendigo approaching. Lily hesitated, but did as she was told.

"Carter, cover the rear." Lily said as she took point.

"Good luck." Carter said with an inclination of her head towards the youngest Winchester before following her sister and the Collins siblings.

Not even ten seconds down the path they heard Sam's flare gun go off. Three seconds after that Sam was running their way shouting, "Run! Go, go!" He quickly took the lead from Lily.

Hailey, Ben, and Tommy stepped it up a notch but Lily went to her sister and the two kept their focus on the rear with their guns. Through the patches of light that came from above, Carter could see the Wendigo as she and her sister went as fast as they could backwards. It had pale skin and walked on two legs, but it was hunched over slightly. She and Lily shot at it until they ran out of bullets.

The group reached a dead end. As the Wendigo grew closer, Carter threw her gun at it as hard as she could. It dodged the weapon and continued moving forward.

The Wendigo was about ten, fifteen feet from the group by now. It let out another roar and stepped forward. Before anyone could react, a voice shouted "Hey!" from behind the supernatural creature. A gun shot and a flash of light later and a burning corpse was lying on the ground where the Wendigo had once stood.

"Not bad, huh?" Dean asked, the beginning of a smirk on his face. Carter rolled her eyes.

"Took you long enough, Winchester. Had me worried for a few seconds." She responded, retrieving her gun from the ground a few feet away from the burning body.

The group was eventually able to make their way out of the caves and out of Blackwater Ridge to their cars. Roy's vehicle was left and Hailey said she would send a tow truck later. The hunters rode in the Impala while the Collins siblings rode in Hailey's car.

They met up at the ranger's station where the cops had been called. Tommy was taken into an ambulance, and Ben and Hailey were going to ride with him. The paramedics had done the basic check up over everyone involved in the hike, but found nothing serious besides bruises and cuts.

The police were given a story the group had come up with on their way out of the caves and through the woods. A huge Grizzly bear had attacked the campsite, killing Tommy's friends and Roy. Sheer luck had allowed Hailey, Ben, Tommy, Sam, Dean, Lily, and Carter to escape and get to safety. The police and rangers had agreed to go out the next morning and search for the bear.

The hunters said a farewell to the Collins family, wishing Tommy a speedy recovery. Once the ambulance and police had left, Lily asked, "Guys wanna go get some good ole' diner food?"

Sam and Dean paid for a late dinner for the four hunters and the group talked and laughed with one another for at least an hour. After dinner, they returned to their motel and caught up on some much needed sleep.

The next morning, it was time to say goodbye.

"Hope you find your dad." Lily smiled, giving Sam and Dean both separate hugs. "Try not to get yourselves killed, either."

"We'll do our best, Lily." Sam grinned.

"Stay outta trouble, Carter." Dean smirked.

"Yeah, I could say the same Dean." The fourteen year old returned, spitting out her tongue in good humor.

"If you guys need anything, you have our numbers." Sam reminded the sisters seriously, "Anything at all, just call us up."

"Same here." Lily said.

The two families said a final goodbye before getting into their vehicles and driving in separate directions. Carter hoped, as she watched the passing scenery, that she'd see the Winchesters again someday soon. They were great hunters and she could tell that one day they'd be great friends to her and Lily. Carter was definitely looking forward to the next time Sam and Dean crossed the sisters' paths. She put her seat back so she could sleep on the long journey to Tennessee and closed her eyes.


	5. Demons Say the Darnest Things

I didn't like this chapter too much but...oh well. Thanks to all of those who've alerted/favorited/reviewed! Sorry if it's taking longer than usual to answer your reviews but I'm not getting the emails until a couple days afterwards.

_**The Legacy of Hunters**_

_Chapter Five: Demons Say the Darnest Things_

**Creekwater, Tennessee**

Carter was more than glad to be on Winter Break for school. Her last exam had been taken the previous day and tomorrow she and Lily were going on a hunt in Virginia. There had been a ton of demon activity in Kampington, an average town on the western side of Virginia.

The fourteen year old watched as Lily's forty year old aunt, Maria, made breakfast for the three occupants of the house. Maria had blond hair like Lily and the same dark brown eyes that reminded Carter of chocolate that Lily had.

"Think you two will be back before Christmas?" Maria questioned, glancing over her shoulder as she made pancakes.

Carter shrugged, "Probably. That's still a week away, I'm sure we'll have things wrapped up before then Maria."

"I still think both of you should leave the demons to someone else—"

Running a hand over her face Carter cut her off, "We've had this conversation before, Maria." Before she could say more, Lily entered talking on her cell phone.

"He didn't freak out too much, did he? Who would have thought he'd be scared of planes?" the blond asked, slightly sympathetic. She looked at Carter's curious gaze and mouthed, "Its Sam."

The teenager nodded her head. Ever since November when the sisters and the Winchesters had hunted a Wendigo Sam and Lily had been keeping in touch with each other at least once or twice a week. Carter wasn't sure if they just enjoyed talking to each other or if there was something more going on, maybe it was a little of both.

Lily laughing loudly caused Carter to jump and roll her eyes.

The next morning, the two sisters left for Virginia. They spent three days on the look out for demons or deaths of any kind and came up with nothing. Everything was just peachy in Kampington, Virginia. Whoever had sent the information to Lily was obviously mistaken because there was nothing wrong.

"I'll give Lucas a call, maybe he got the name wrong or someone else took care of it." Lily sighed as she opened the driver's door of her Mustang.

"At least we can surprise Maria and actually be home." Carter replied as she too climbed into the blue car. "My bet is someone already came through and swept out the demons."

The oldest hunter put the car in reverse before responding, "Probably. Lucas gave me the info last Thursday. That gave whoever cleaned out the town Friday, Saturday, and most of Sunday to get the job done. Unless they heard about Kampington earlier than Lucas and were closer than we were to the town."

"Who knows?" Carter gave a small shrug. "So have you heard from Sam since Saturday?"

"No, he told me he and Dean were on a case up north. They're helping someone Dean and their dad helped out a while back."

"Still no sign of their dad?"

Lily shook her head, "Nope. Hey, did you know Sam went to Stanford?"

"Wow. Scholarship?"

"Yeah, a full-ride."

Carter nodded slightly. Hunting wasn't a paying job. Gambling and credit card scams were the moneymakers among the career choice, so it only made sense Sam had received a scholarship.

"That's actually why Sam quit hunting, to go to college. His dad apparently kicked him out of the family or something along those lines."

The younger hunter raised an eyebrow, "That's a little…intense."

"Well, something supernatural killed their mother when Sam was a baby." Lily explained, "And their dad wanted to hunt down whatever it was and the hunt became an obsession. Dean knew about the supernatural since he was four and Sam when he was eight."

Carter swallowed a lump in her throat. Finding out about supernatural creatures when you're eight and four years old…it was crazy. Carter had known about the supernatural her entire life, had known since she could understand exactly what monsters were. She wouldn't say her dad was 'obsessive' about hunting, but he had cut it close. Very close.

Eventually, the two made it back to Maria's home. Lily shoved the house key into the door and unlocked it. They turned on the lights to the living room and shut the door, Carter re-locking it.

"Maria?" Lily hollered, "Maria, we're home!"

The older girl dropped her duffel behind the large couch in the room and went in search of her aunt. Carter tossed her own bag next to Lily's and climbed over the back of the couch. She stretched her legs out and turned her head to look at the Christmas tree Maria had put up while they were gone. The teen inhaled deeply and furrowed her eyebrows, something smelt…off. Shrugging to herself, she let it go. Just as Carter was going to close her eyes…

…Lily screamed.

Carter was off the couch in a flash and ran through the house, ducking her head into doors along the way until she reached the kitchen. To say she was shocked would be an understatement.

Lily was pinned to the wall by an invisible force. The blond had her eyes focused on the opposite corner of the room. The second Carter stepped into the kitchen she went flying backwards and found herself next to Lily, unable to move. Carter followed her sister's gaze and had to hold back a gasp. There on the ground was Maria, eyes open and unblinking, her body not moving. A woman of average height and short red hair had her arms crossed, looking at the two half-sisters.

"Well, if it isn't Lily and Carter." She said with a sickly amused smile. "It's taken me a while to track the two of you down. But, at least you have a home base of sorts. That sure made things easier." Her eyes rolled into the back of her head before turning pitch black.

"Demon." Lily spat, the tears that had fallen for her aunt still on her face but she was no longer crying. Her grief and sadness had been replaced by fury and anger.

"What do you want?" Carter asked heatedly, still struggling against the invisible bonds that had her and her sister both against the wall. She was half tempted to exorcise the demon, but exorcisms weren't just a few words. The demon would notice what was happening extremely quickly and probably wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

"I was just in the neighborhood, thought I'd stop by."

"How the hell did you even get in?" Lily demanded, "We've got Devil's Traps all over the place."

The possessed woman shrugged nonchalantly as she stated, "Local witch, she got herself invited over and broke every Trap she found when your aunt was distracted. No one suspected little old Francis Gregory to be a witch."

"The woman from the market?" Carter asked in disbelief. She had passed and talked to the elderly woman countless times at the local food market.

"Yep. Don't worry; you won't have to deal with her. I took care of it." The demon said smoothly, uncaring. "Now, back to the matter at hand. Where are the Winchester brothers?"

Carter had to blink a couple of times to make sure she heard correctly. That was random, she thought. "Sorry, who?" The teen decided it would be best to play stupid.

"You know exactly who." The demon replied, impatience hinting in her voice. "I already know about Colorado and the Wendigo so there's no need to pretend you don't know them." She was right in front of the sisters now, and Carter realized it was the demon she'd smelled earlier in the living room. The smell was barely recognizable as sulfur and rust.

"We haven't talked to the Winchesters since then." Lily said. Carter saw the loophole. Sure, Lily had talked to Sam recently, but not both brothers since the Wendigo. Carter set a mental note to high-five Lily later. Half-truths were easier to say than plain lies.

Hands on hips, the demon raised her eyebrows, "Is that so? Because, you see, I think you're lying."

"And what makes you think that?" Carter questioned with a glare.

"Sweetheart, I'm a demon; I lie on a daily basis. Now, where are they?"

"We don't know." Lily admitted honestly, "We never tell each other where we're going in case some crazy-ass demon bitch shows up."

Without warning, Lily fell to the floor but did manage to land on her feet. The demon pulled a knife from her pocket and stepped closer to Carter. "I want you to call Sam and Dean and tell them you need some help." She addressed Lily, "If you give off the impression you're in current danger, I'll slice your sister's throat open. Clear?" The fourteen year old considered doing an exorcism but knew she'd never get the words out in time.

Lily and Carter shared a quick look before Lily pulled out her cell phone.

A/n: Demons are so demanding, don'tcha think?


	6. Unexpected

**So, I'm in a pretty good mood thanks to all the alerts/favorites/reviews I've received for this story as well as a couple other stories. As a response, I wanted to post a bonus chapter. Enjoy.**

_**The Legacy of Hunters**_

_Chapter Six: Unexpected_

Reminder: I do not own Supernatural or anything else you recognize in this story.

**Creekwater, Tennessee**

Several hours had passed and the Winchesters still hadn't shown up. Carter had eventually been released from the demon's hold, but the three were in the kitchen still and Maria's body lay in the corner of the room, a puddle of blood surrounding her. They hadn't seen a wound, so Carter figured Maria had probably been attacked from behind and the blood was coming from her back. Lily was at the kitchen table, glaring at the demon that completely ignored her. Carter was sitting on the kitchen counter, kicking her legs gently. The demon was leaning against the only entrance of the kitchen, switching her gaze between Lily and Carter.

"So was there even a demon in Kampington?" Lily asked out of nowhere.

The demon gave another twisted smile, "Smart girl. No, there wasn't."

Lily nodded as if she'd expected the answer and the three fell into a silence much like the one that had taken place over the past several hours.

Finally, the doorbell rang. Carter's eyes flickered to the clock, 8:19 PM. She swallowed and looked to her older sister. Lily was already standing.

"Answer the door, bring them in here. Remember, no tip offs." The demon ordered, going to stand beside Carter. The fourteen year old was getting tired of this demon using her as leverage. Lily left the room with a glance at her half-sister.

The teen listened with her eyes shut as Lily greeted Sam and Dean at the door before leading them to the kitchen. Carter opened her eyes as the demon walked forward a little. Her eyes darted to her left leg where a pocket knife was strapped to her leg. It wouldn't do any good, though. The damage would be to the human girl the demon was possessing, not the demon itself.

Nervously, Carter shifted. Any second now Sam and Dean were going to walk right into a trap. She was feeling pretty guilty, that's for sure.

But when the two men entered the kitchen, they were armed with a gun each and a flask of holy water. Carter ducked out of the demon's reach as her eyes turned black. Dean flung the flask in his hand at the demon, causing her to shriek in pain as the liquid hit her skin. Carter figured the demon must have known there was no way she'd be able to take on four hunters, because black smoke suddenly spewed from the red head's mouth and went out the nearest exit.

Sam rushed forward and grabbed the now demon-free girl before she could fall to the floor, Carter grabbing his gun so he could focus on the girl. He helped her out of the room, Lily's voice directing him where to go.

"Good to see you, Winchester." Carter smiled, walking over to the man.

"Same here Carter." He replied with his own little smile before saying, "Come on," The two made their way to the living room where the red haired girl was sitting on the couch being comforted by Lily and Sam.

"I-I-I couldn't con-control my own b-body." She sobbed into Lily's shoulder.

"It's okay, it's over now." Lily patted her on the back. The oldest sister asked the red head her name and where she was from and received the answers of 'Lynn' and 'Texas'. Sam got up and walked over to Carter and Dean who were hanging around the entrance of the living room.

"I don't think it's safe to stay here." Sam stated honestly, almost bluntly.

"Probably not." Dean agreed instantly.

Carter added, "I say we take Lynn to a hospital, just to be sure she's alright." She ran a hand over her face before turning around and preparing to face the dead body in the kitchen.

"What in the world is going on in here?"

Carter spun around to see Maria holding a plate of food and looking around in confusion. Lily jumped up and Carter could see the internal struggle on her sister's face. Either Maria had just walked through the front door, the real Maria, or she was a fake sent to screw with them some more.

Luckily, Lily recovered quicker than Carter and asked, "How old was I when I broke my wrist?"

"Twelve, but I don't see what that—oomf!" Maria's sentence was cut off when Lily ran into the woman and wrapped her up in a hug and began crying tears of relief.

Dean raised an eyebrow at the teenager and Carter swallowed the lump in her throat and motioned for him to follow. She led Sam and Dean to the kitchen and pointed to 'Maria's' body. "Whatever it is, it's definitely dead or it would have run off when it heard the real Maria." Dean stated, "But just to be sure…." He took his gun and shot the body in the head two times, causing a couple of screams from the living room.

"Hope the neighbors didn't hear." Sam sighed in annoyance at his older brother.

"The guy to our left is deaf and the girl to our right is an electric guitarist who had to sound-proof her house so people would quit complaining. We should be good for now." Carter informed them with a chuckle.

"Especially since none of us will be here when the police do show up." Dean added. "I think I know someone who could protect your aunt and they'd get along well by what Lily told Sam."

An hour later everyone, including Lynn, was packed up into the three cars (the Impala, the Mustang, and Maria's SUV which now had different license plates so it couldn't be tracked). Lynn was dropped off at a local hospital and Lily told her it was up to her if she wanted to tell anyone about being possessed, but she highly discouraged it. The three vehicles made their way out of the state and to Blue Earth, Minnesota, where Pastor Jim Murphy was waiting for his guests.

When they finally made it to Blue Earth, they had had to make a few stops, it was Christmas Eve. Snow covered everything in sight and continued to gently fall even as the group parked their cars in front of a large cabin.

A man with brown hair flecked with gray stood with a warm smile on the front porch of the cabin. "It's good to see you boys again," he greeted when Sam and Dean led the group up the steps. He hugged both men briefly before introducing himself, "I'm Pastor Jim Murphy, but all of you can just call me Jim or Pastor Jim."

"Nice to meet you." Lily and Carter said politely in unison.

"My name is Maria Tipton," Maria responded, "This is Lily and Carter."

Once the introductions were over, Pastor Jim invited the group inside and handed out hot chocolate and coffee. "I take it all of you will be spending the night?" he questioned, already knowing the answer.

Sam nodded, "If that's alright with you."

The pastor gave a loud, cheerful laugh, "Of course it is, Samuel. Maria, you can use the guest bedroom beside the boys' and Lily and Carter can share the room down the hall from the living room since it's the guest room with two beds."

"Sounds great, Jim." Maria gave him a grateful smile and allowed Sam to carry her two bags up the stairs. She followed him.

"Dean, could you please show Lily and Carter to their room?" Pastor Jim said softly when Carter and Lily had both put their mugs of liquid in the sink. Dean gave an affirmative and let the girls carry their bags down the hall to a small room with two beds. The oldest Winchester let the girls get settled by leaving and returning to the kitchen.

"Mr. Murphy seems nice." Lily started, pushing her duffel to the end of one of the two beds.

Carter shrugged, "I guess." The teen shoved her bag under the remaining bed. Something suddenly occurred to her, "Lily, exactly how did Sam and Dean know it was a trap? Did you tell them?"

Slowly, Lily shook her head. "I didn't have much time, actually. I opened the door and they already had their guns out." She sat on the bed and Carter sat beside her. At first inspection, the blankets looked scratchy but were actually soft and warm. "I told them you were in the kitchen and led them in there…and you know the rest."

"It's a bit strange, isn't it?" Carter proposed, "They knew it was a trap—"

"If you're trying to say they were in on it—"

"That's not what I'm saying, Lily." Carter interrupted her angrily, "If you'd let me talk, "she paused, "You know what, never mind." The fourteen year old left the bed and exited the room. Carter went back to the kitchen where Pastor Jim, Maria, Sam, and Dean were talking about what had happened in Creekwater.

"Before we left I looked over the body," Dean said, arms crossed as he leaned against the refrigerator, "There was a silver dagger sticking out from under the body's back."

"Shape-shifter." Sam nodded, "Makes sense. Demon needed Lily and Carter to believe their aunt was dead and the easiest way to do that was to get a shape-shifter."

Carter questioned, "So where do we go from here?" The teenager fixed her coal-black hair into a ponytail while she waited for an answer.

"Maria obviously shouldn't go back to Tennessee." Pastor Jim told them, "She's more than welcome to stay here for as long as she needs to. As are you and your sister." He addressed the last part to Carter as Lily entered the room and sat beside Maria at the kitchen table. "Sam, Dean, it seems this demon was after the two of you."

"We'll stay until after Christmas," Dean said after glancing at his brother, "But after that we'll hit the road."

"Then it's only safe if we go with you." Lily pointed out. At least two curious gazes found their selves looking at the oldest girl. Carter could tell Lily wanted to roll her eyes, "That demon used us to get to you. Let's not have a repeat of that and just stick together."

What she had said made sense, if the demon wanted the Winchesters it could just use the same method of using Carter and Lily. It could even use Maria to get to the half-sisters, but Maria would be safe in Blue Earth with Pastor Jim.

"And what about your aunt? What if that demon comes after her?" Dean asked, thinking the same thing as Carter had been.

"She'll be fine here." Lily glanced at the pastor, "You said Mr. Murphy was an expert on demons, Maria will be perfectly okay here."

Sam shrugged, "I'm fine with it."

Dean gave a nod in Lily's direction. After some small talk, the pastor suggested everyone get some sleep. The hunters and Maria went to bed without complaint.

A few hours later found Carter sitting on the couch in the living room, watching the seconds tick by on the large clock above a fireplace.

"Carter?" a sleepy Sam Winchester yawned from behind her.

With a jump, Carter whispered, "God! You scared the crap out of me, Sam."

The man gave her a small smile before walking around the couch and sitting beside her. "Couldn't sleep?"

She shook her head, "You?"

"Nope."

They sat in a companionable silence for several minutes. Then, Carter asked, "How did you know it was a trap? Lily said you already had your guns out."

Immediately the youngest Winchester stiffened, "Just a feeling."

"Liar." Carter elbowed him playfully, "Come on, what's up?"

He shook his head, "It's nothing."

"If it's nothing then it shouldn't matter if you tell me."

"No."

The teenager let out an annoyed sound and grabbed the couch pillow before gently hitting him in the back of the head with it.

Sam laughed and seriously said, "You wouldn't believe me, trust me."

Carter thought back to all the unbelievable things she'd seen, experienced, and done. "And trust me when I say I've seen more unbelievable things than you'd think."

"What are you guys doing up?" Lily asked, coming into the living room. Carter groaned inwardly, now Sam definitely wasn't going to say anything about how he and his brother had known the demon had laid a trap. If he was hesitant to tell one person, he wasn't going to tell two.

With a small sigh Carter replied, "I couldn't sleep." Lily walked around to stand in front of her sister and motioned for Carter to scoot over. She moved over so Lily was on one side and Sam was on the other.

"So it was you two I heard moving around in here?"

Sam nodded a bit guiltily, "Yeah, sorry. The walls here are like paper."

Lily shook off his apology, "Don't worry about it Sam. I heard Carter get out of bed and was already up when you walked by my room."

The conversation turned into casual talk and Carter knew that bringing up her and Sam's talk earlier wouldn't make him tell her and Lily what happened. When the sun came up, the trio migrated into the kitchen and Pastor Jim came down to make breakfast with Lily and Sam's help. Carter, however, was a horrible cook and Lily swore she could burn water. So, the fourteen year old went to the room she was sharing with her sister and changed into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt.

**I'm writing chapter 25 right now and I've introduced a new character in it that will probably seen in future stories...and by probably I mean _will_.**


	7. Christmas Among Friends

**The Legacy of Hunters**

**Chapter Seven: Christmas Among Friends**

**Blue Earth, Minnesota**

"Merry Christmas, everyone." Maria greeted as she came into the kitchen.

"Ow! Shit!" Carter half-shouted as Maria bumped into Dean who bumped into Lily who happened to be holding a cup of hot coffee that sloshed over and hit Carter's bare feet. Sheepishly she said, "Excuse my language, Pastor Jim."

Jim gave her a small smile, "It's quite alright, Carter."

"Sorry Car," Lily apologized, grabbing a few paper towels and handing them to her sibling.

After wiping the coffee from the floor and her feet, Carter sat at the table with Lily to her left and Maria to her right. Everyone's plate held a mixture of bacon, eggs, and sausage. Jim, Maria, and Sam had coffee while Dean, Lily, and Carter had orange juice. The pastor held a quick prayer, where each member of the table bowed their heads, before he told everyone to dig in.

Once breakfast was over and the dishes were cleaned, Carter had the idea of going outside. "Anyone want to come?" she said when she had her jacket and shoes on.

"Please tell me you have a pair of gloves or at least a hat to wear." Pastor Jim said, exasperation coating his voice.

"Er…I have my baseball cap in my bag."

The pastor shook his head and motioned for Carter to follow him. He led her to a room that had two beds and was full of random things. There were toys that looked as if they hadn't been touched in a long time and books and magazines lying around the room. "Excuse the mess, but the boys haven't spent the night here since Dean was twenty-one-one and Sam seventeen. I'm pretty sure I told them to clean up after themselves, too, but obviously that hasn't happened." He gave the teen a wink before going to the closet and pulling a box from the top shelf.

He rummaged through the box before handing her two un-matching gloves and a toboggan. "There, that'll help keep you warm."

"Thanks," she said genuinely. Carter pulled the toboggan over her head and the gloves over her hands and went outside. A few minutes later she was joined by Lily, then Sam, and then Dean. Pastor Jim and Maria sat on the front porch, merely enjoying watching the four in the snow.

Sam and Lily were making a snowman when Carter walked over to Dean and whispered something to him. Jim knew that look that suddenly crossed the young man's face. It was the same look he had when Dean was growing up and would mess with his brother. Nudging Maria, the two watched as Dean and Carter picked up balls of snow and casually walked up to Sam and Lily who were completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

Without warning, Lily and Sam found themselves covered in snow.

A snowball fight broke out, Sam and Lily versus Dean and Carter. They hid behind trees, cars, and once even behind Pastor Jim. But things went wrong for Carter when she climbed up a tree.

She was sitting on one of the branches when Dean walked under the branch. Carter shook the branch and snow fell right on top of Dean's head, making him let out a cry of surprise. He looked up to find the teenager smiling brightly at him.

"This means war!" he pointed a finger at her. "Sam! Lily! I say we team up." Lily and Sam came out from behind Maria's SUV and laughed loudly at the sight of Carter up a tree and Dean covered in snow. "I'd hold out a white flag but I don't have one so you'll have to use your imagination."

Lily and Sam talked for a moment before Sam yelled, "We agree!"

_Crap_. Carter thought when Lily and Sam joined Dean under the tree. She considered jumping down and making a run for it, but there was three of them and they were all faster than she was.

"Just come down and take your punishment in peace." Lily hollered up the tree. Sam, the tallest, made a grab for Carter's leg that was hanging down off of the branch. She pulled it up just in time.

"Ha, fat chance." Carter spat out her tongue. She thought they were going to stand there all day until Lily climbed up the tree herself. Dean and Sam made sure to stay under Carter the entire time while Lily climbed towards her sister.

"Last chance Carter, you either go down or I'll make you." Lily told her. They were only a couple feet apart now. Carter was further down the sturdy branch than Lily was.

"You've known me since October, Lily, since when do I surrender?" Carter asked rhetorically. The teen wished she had just surrendered when Lily pushed her off the branch and into the waiting arms of the Winchester brothers.

Carter twisted and bucked but the brothers had a firm grip on her. Lily exited the tree and made her way to the trio. "So what do you guys think we should do with her?"

"If it wasn't December I'd say toss her in the lake." Dean admitted, "But its frozen solid this time of year. Sam?"

"A bathtub is just as good as a lake, Dean." Sam replied with a laugh.

Lily ran ahead to start the water in the bathtub while Sam and Dean dealt with the fourteen year old who had gone back to attempting to escape. The two men slowly made their way into the house to give Lily enough time to get the tub full of water. Pastor Jim and Maria just sat back and watched the hunters having fun. When Sam, Dean, and Carter made it to the bathroom, the boys moved their grip so they had Carter by her arms and legs. The teen tensed and stopped struggling, knowing she'd just end up hitting her head on the side of the tub.

"One." Lily counted off.

"Two." Dean added.

"Three." Sam finished. On three Carter closed her eyes and mouth and felt her body go into cold water. It wasn't icy cold but it sure wasn't warm either. She was in for a second before Sam and Dean pulled her back out.

Dripping wet, the boys put her on her feet and Lily gave her a towel. "T-thanks for not p-putting it too c-cold." Carter said as she dried her face off, ignoring the stutter in her voice from the cold outside and the water she'd just been dunked in.

"No problem, Car." Lily said, "I'll go make some hot chocolate for everyone." The three adults left and Carter retrieved new clothes and another towel before drying and changing. When she came into the kitchen, a cup of hot chocolate was awaiting her.

The rest of the day was spent just enjoying each other's company. No gifts were handed out for the fact that no one had expected to be at the pastor's home and Maria had left Carter and Lily's in Creekwater.

Later that night, Maria explained to the hunters that every holiday her family would sleep in the living room. With everyone's permission, the group decided on doing just that. Pastor Jim and Maria were on the two couches since they were the elders of the group. Sam and Dean had found sleeping bags tucked away in their room for the four youngest members. The four were sure to keep far enough apart so that sleeping next to each other wouldn't be labeled as weird, but close enough that they were in arms reach of the person beside them.

When Carter went to sleep that night beside Lily, she definitely deemed this the best Christmas she'd ever had.

The next morning Maria brought up a topic Carter had wished would had been forgotten.

"Are you going to be able to handle moving schools so much?"

The hunters and Maria were at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Pastor Jim and Maria were the only ones wearing everyday clothes while the others were dressed in their sleeping clothes. Well, Sam and Dean had pulled on a pair of pajama pants since Pastor Jim did not allow anyone to even approach the table wearing just boxers and a shirt.

Carter raised an eyebrow and nodded, "Maria, I switched schools every week, I'll be fine."

"That's still a lot, even by hunter standards." Jim stated, "John tried to keep the boys in school for a few weeks at least."

"Yeah, he would drive to the hunts when we were younger." Dean commented, "Since we have four people I think the hunts are going to go a lot quicker, though. Dad worked solo for a long time."

"We could try home-schooling." Lily suggested, biting into a piece of toast. "That way we don't even have to deal with school principals, she won't get into any fights-"

"Who says I'll get into a fight?" the teen demanded.

The adults shared a look and decided not to go down that road. Sam said, "Some things she could do online so that would help a lot. Plus it'd give us breaks from hunting all day long."

"Carter? What do you think?" Jim addressed her, "It should be your choice, after all."

"No moronic idiots to deal with, no teachers that assign homework every night, a lower chance of CPS? Works for me." the fourteen year old smiled.

**A/N: Just wanted to say I really had a blast writing this chapter. It was completely fun and entertaining. And before anyone says anything, the Carter dunked in water thing isn't meant to be cruel. They are all, including Carter, Jim, and Maria, aware that Lily, Dean, and Sam were just having fun with her. Sorry, just thought I'd put this out here and not get a review about this.**

**Also, sorry it's late but I've been real distracted recently. Drop a review!  
**


	8. I Know What You Did Last Summer Part 1

_**The Legacy of Hunters**_

_**Chapter Eight: I Know What You Did Last Summer Part 1**_

**Somewhere in Ohio**

"Jess! No!"

The sudden shouts made the three conscious occupants of the Impala jump in surprise. Dean pulled the car over to the side of the road and shook his brother awake, cursing as a car passing by honked their horn.

Sam awoke with a gasp and looked around, clearly disoriented. Finally, he said, "I take it I was having a nightmare."

Dean removed his hand from his brother's shoulder and said, "Yeah, another one Sam." Shaking his head slightly, Dean looked over his shoulder and pulled the car back onto the road.

"At least I got some sleep." Sam pointed out, finding the optimism in the situation.

"Still scared the crap out of us." Carter commented, putting the book she was reading down. The week after Christmas, the pastor had insisted everyone stay longer than planned, the Winchesters Carter, and Lily set out in the Impala to Toledo, Ohio. Pastor Jim let Lily keep her Mustang parked in his driveway so they wouldn't have to travel with two cars. The book Carter was currently reading had come from Sam and Dean's room. It was a book that had long been forgotten until Dean tripped over it and threw it into the hallway, barely missing Carter's head by three inches. After giving Dean a short lecture, Pastor Jim recommended the book to the Graves girl.

"Ya know, sooner or later we're going to have to talk about this." Dean told the twenty-two year old sternly.

Sam looked around, "We almost there?"

"According to our navigator, we should just be outside Toledo." Dean jerked his head back in Lily's direction. "Right Lily?"

"Right." The blond girl replied with a small smile. In her lap was an obituary with a picture circled in permanent marker and a map of the United States of America. Steven Shoemaker, the deceased man whose picture was circled, had died two days ago. "So what do you guys think happened to Mr. Shoemaker here?"

"That's what we're here to find out, welcome to Toledo ladies and…yeah, ladies, guess that includes you Samantha." He gave his brother a grin as they passed the sign 'Welcome to Toledo!'

"You know," Carter groaned, "Using those insults against Sam is offensive to girls."

Dean seemed to consider it before shrugging, "I think you'll survive." He smirked.

The four drove around town until they found the building they were looking for. Lily put the items in her lap in between herself and her sister and climbed out of the car. Carter, not surprisingly, was left to wait in the car. She grumpily kicked the back of Dean's seat as she watched her sister and the two men enter the city's morgue building. A small shoe print was left where she had kicked the seat. Rolling her eyes, the fourteen year old used her hand to rub the dirt away. Only God knew what Dean would do if he found dirt on his precious Impala's seat.

"Did you see the body?" Carter questioned when the trio of adults had rejoined her in the Impala.

Dean replied sarcastically, "No, we just sat around kicking puppies for the past forty-five minutes."

Before Carter could tell Dean where he could shove it, Lily informed her sister, "There's no official cause of death. His daughter found him with his eyes bleeding, alone. It's pretty nasty, too."

"Lost eighty friggin' dollars payin' the guy off, too."

"Dude that was money you won gambling." Sam sighed in exasperation. Dean started the car.

"And your point is?"

The sisters rolled their eyes in perfect unison before Carter said, "Let's just go see the daughter and talk to her."

The drive to the Shoemakers' home was pretty short. Once they arrived, they noticed several cars were already parked around the area and people wearing black were going in and out of the house. "Great, we're crashing a funeral." Carter muttered, glad she'd picked today to wear a black t-shirt. Since this involved no documents or actual interrogation, Carter was allowed to tag along.

The first thing out of Dean's mouth when the four entered the home was, "Feel like we're under dressed,"

"Understatement of the year, Winchester." Carter smiled slightly, following her sister through the small crowd. People were gathered everywhere in clusters, some crying while others recalling fond memories spent with Steven Shoemaker.

There was no telling who Shoemaker's daughter was, so Lily politely asked if an elderly man could point her out. The man casually led the four outside to the back yard and pointed the young woman out. She had short, styled brown hair and was sitting beside two women and a teenage girl.

"You must be Donna, right?" Dean asked as he approached the women.

The brunette nodded, "Yeah."

"We're sorry about your father." Sam stated honestly. "I'm Sam, this is Dean. We worked with your dad. This is Carter and Lily, our cousins."

The girl beside Donna and Donna shared a look and Donna asked with a strange voice, "You did?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah. So…a stroke. Were there ever any symptoms? Dizziness, maybe?"

Donna closed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head, "Uh, no. No."

The teenager, with the same brown hair as Donna, looked at the woman. "That's because it wasn't a stroke, Donna."

"Lilly, don't say that." Donna scolded gently, "It wasn't your fault."

"No, it happened because of me."

Carter walked over to the girl. She looked about the same age as, maybe a year younger. "Why would you say that?" she asked, curiously. Maybe the girl had seen something, or even heard something.

Donna's sister, Lilly, swallowed before answering, "Because, right before he died…I said it."

"Said what?"

"Bloody Mary three times in the bathroom."

Carter's eyebrows went up.

Dean said, "Bloody Mary? Lilly, how was it your fault when you're the one who said it, not him? He didn't say it, did he?"

"No," the teen sighed sadly, "I don't think so."

The hunters left the Shoemakers alone with a quick farewell before returning to the house and going upstairs—discreetly, of course. Searching for the bathroom where Mr. Shoemaker had died, the group was completely silent. Finally, Sam pushed open the bathroom door. There were still bloodstains on the linoleum floor.

"The Bloody Mary legend. Dad ever find any evidence that she actually exists?" Sam questioned his brother. Dean turned on the bathroom light with the flick of a switch.

"Not that I know of."

The four entered the large bathroom, inspecting the place.

"But…there are kids all over the world playing the Bloody Mary game," Lily pointed out, saying 'Bloody Mary' hesitantly. "Nobody really dies from it."

"Yeah, well, maybe everywhere else it's just a story but here it's actually happening." Dean responded, looking at the mirror. He opened it up to reveal a medicine cabinet.

"Place where the legend began?" Carter guessed, receiving a nod from Dean.

Sam got a quizzical look on his face, "But isn't it supposed to be whoever says…you know who—" Carter restrained herself from making a Lord Voldemort reference, "—gets it. Here, the dad gets it instead."

"Doesn't make sense." Lily took a small breath. "But the dad did die right in front of the mirror. And the younger sister was right; you know who scratches your eyes out."

Before anyone could say anything else, footsteps echoed from the hallway. Carter looked around thinking, _Man this is going to be hard to explain. And extremely awkward, too._

The four left the bathroom and came face to face with one of the women that were with Donna. She had long blond hair that came halfway down her back and high heels on. She crossed her arms and asked accusingly, "What are you doing up here?"

"Using the bathroom." Dean said instantly. "That a problem?"

"Who exactly are you? Don't even tell me you worked with Donna's dad, he worked at home. By himself. And what the hell was with all those weird questions?" There were several seconds of silence before she continued, "I suggest you tell me what's going on, or I start screaming."

_Which is definitely the last thing we need._ Carter sighed mentally.

Luckily, Sam responded before they could tell whether or not the girl was bluffing. "Alright, alright. We think something happened to Donna's dad."

"Yeah, a stroke."

"That's not the signs of a typical stroke." He stated calmly, referring to Mr. Shoemaker. "We think it's something else."

"Like what?"

Sam sighed quietly, "We don't know yet, honestly. But we don't want it to happen to anyone else, that's the truth."

The girl looked between the four and nodded to herself.

"How about this," Sam took out a piece of paper and a pen, "If you or your friends notice anything strange, unusual, or out of the ordinary, give us a call." He wrote his cell number on the paper and handed it to the blond girl. "What was your name?"

"Charlie." She replied, taking the paper and examining the number.

Then, without another word, the hunters made their leave and returned to the Impala.

Dean drove to the local library and the four began researching. Unfortunately, the computers were all 'OUT OF ORDER'. Carter could have sworn she saw Lily's eyes twitch in frustration and annoyance.

"Great." Dean muttered sarcastically.

"We can still do this," Sam pointed out, "It'll just take a lot longer. They probably still have the paper editions of local newspapers and records in case their system crashes. We just have to find anything about a 'Mary'."

"The only thing in common the stories have is she died in front of a mirror, though." Lily stated, "But different legends say she was different things. One a mutilated bride, one a witch, and the list goes on and on. Who knows how many girls or women named 'Mary' there are."

Carter sighed quietly, "Then I guess we should get started."

Two hours later found the four hunters in their motel rooms. Sam and Dean were sharing one next door to Carter and Lily. Carter was sitting against her bed headboard, staring at the ceiling while Lily was flipping through the TV channels. The library hadn't revealed much. Dean was in the room next door with his brother, searching through a couple books he had checked out with his new library card entitled to 'John Clarkson'.

Carter, for one, was definitely losing her patience with this hunt. Kids played Bloody Mary all the time, but why were the deaths here real? Plus it was Lilly Shoemaker who said it, not her father. Maybe the hunters were right in thinking this was where the legend started, but why was it happening now for the first time? Was this even the first time?

Eventually, Lily turned off the television and left the room. Carter raised an eyebrow and went after her sister, being sure to grab the key card. The two girls knocked on Sam and Dean's door; it opened to reveal Sam who looked as if he'd just woken up. He let them in and Lily asked what they had so far.

"Besides a whole new level of frustration, not much." Dean answered. He was sitting in a corner of the room in an uncomfortable looking chair with a book in his lap. "Two girls, Anna and Kathryn, committed suicide in front of a mirror and a big mirror fell on a guy named Dave, but no Mary."

Sam groaned and went to one of the two beds and fell backwards onto the bed. "Maybe we just haven't found it yet."

"I've also been searching for strange deaths in the area, you know, eye ball bleeding. But nothing. Maybe whatever this is isn't Mary."

The younger Winchester glanced as his brother but before he could reply his cell phone went off. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, Sam answered, "Hello?"


	9. I Know What You Did Last Summer Part 2

_**The Legacy of Hunters**_

_**Chapter Nine: I Know What You Did Last Summer Part 2**_

**Toledo, Ohio**

When they had arrived at the local park, Charlie, who had called Sam at the motel, had been close to losing it. The young woman was shaking slightly as she explained about her friend, Jill, and how she had said 'Bloody Mary' three times as a joke. Jill was found dead with her eyes missing. She'd gone on to say she was going insane because, "Bloody Mary isn't real…right?" Unfortunately, Sam and Dean had had to set her straight and told her something was going on in Toledo and they wanted to stop it, and they could use her help.

Which was why Carter had just climbed through a window. The hunters had followed Charlie to Jill's home so they could check out the 'crime scene'.

"What'd you tell Jill's mom?" Sam asked as he put a small bag of equipment on Jill's bed.

"Just that I needed some time with Jill's pictures and stuff, God I hate lying to her." Charlie said, slightly disgusted with herself.

Lily patted her on the back, "Trust me, it's for the greater good."

"Hit the lights." Dean whispered. Carter turned off the lights and went to stand beside her half-sister.

Sam pulled out a video camera and fiddled with it for several seconds before saying to his brother, "Hey, night vision." Dean pushed a button the technological device. "Thanks." He pointed it up at his older brother.

"Do I look like Paris Hilton?" the older boy joked with a small grin. The females in the room rolled their eyes while Sam snorted and walked to Jill's bathroom. Carter followed Sam into the bathroom as he waved the camera around the mirror. At the bottom of the mirror there was some sort of stain on the wall.

"Dean, is there a black light in the trunk?" Carter called out quietly.

After Dean had retrieved the black light from the Impala, Sam pulled the mirror off of the wall and placed it onto Jill's bed. He ripped the paper from the back and Lily shone the black light onto the mirror's back.

There was a handprint and a name: Cory Bryman.

"Cory Bryman?" Charlie whispered.

"You know him?" Lily asked, going over the mirror one last time in case anything else turned up before shutting the black light off.

Charlie shook her head as a negative. Sam replaced the mirror while Lily, Carter, and Dean climbed out the window and went back to the Impala. Charlie joined them, though she used the door instead of the window, after Sam had gone through the window. They dropped Sam and Lily off at the library before Dean, Carter, and Charlie parked outside the library and waited around the Impala in a comfortable silence until Charlie broke it.

"How do you guys know about…," she made a vague gesture with her hands, "this stuff? I mean, how'd you come to the conclusion that Donna's dad didn't die of a stroke?"

Carter sighed, "We sort of go around, hunting supernatural beings. If a death or event sounds odd we check it out."

The young woman digested that and asked no more questions. When Lily and Sam met the three in the parking lot, they gathered around, careful to steer clear of the lane where cars would drive by.

"Cory Bryman was an eight year old boy." Sam started.

Lily pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, "Two years ago he was killed in a hit and run by a car described as a black Toyota Camry, but nobody got the plates or saw the driver."

"Oh my god," Charlie said slowly, "Jill drove that car."

The hunters all shared a look before Dean voiced, "We need to get back to your friend Donna's house."

After examining the Shoemaker's bathroom mirror where Steven Shoemaker had died, the hunters discovered the words 'Linda Shoemaker' written under a handprint. They talked to Donna, who admitted that her mother, Linda, died of an overdose of sleeping pills. She then yelled at them to get out of her house.

"Do you really think Mr. Shoemaker killed his wife?" Charlie asked softly, her voice slightly disbelieving.

"If the shoe fits…." Carter shrugged with a stifled yawn. She hadn't slept well the night before and with a look at Lily's watch it was already ten at night. Being a hunter, Carter was used to long hours, but even hunters needed to sleep.

"I think I should stick around." Charlie stated seriously.

"Just don't…ya know." Dean sent her a look.

"Believe me, I won't."

*Supernatural*

"You're doing a nationwide search?" Lily asked incredulously. The party of hunters was in Sam and Dean's motel room. Papers were taped to the wall, showing their research. Sam and Lily were looking at the wall, searching for anything that would help with the case. Carter was asleep on Dean's bed. Dean was hunched over a laptop, typing away.

"Yep." Dean confirmed. "At this point, any Mary that died in front of a mirror is good enough for me."

"But if the killings are in the town she should have died in the town." Sam attempted to reason with his older brother.

Dean glanced over his shoulder to the twenty-one-two year old, "There's nothing here, I've checked."

"Well there's a pattern with the way Mary's choosing her victims." Lily said. A nod from Sam and a 'yeah' from Dean and she knew they were all on the same page. Well, maybe Carter wasn't but she'd be filled in when she woke up. "All the people had secrets where somebody died."

"And there's a ton of folklore about mirrors and how they reveal all your lies, secrets, and how they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them." Sam stated, sighing before walking over to his brother and the laptop.

Dean picked up the train of thought, "So if you've got a bad enough secret, like where somebody died, Mary sees it and kills you whether you're the one who called her or not."

"Exactly."

"Stupid demon," The three oldest hunters turned their heads to see Carter mumbling, eyes closed as she continued to sleep.

Lily rolled her eyes as Dean chuckled, shaking his head.

"Take a look at this." Dean said, pointing to the screen of the laptop, getting back on track. "Her name's Mary Worthington. Unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana."

"Let's check it out, then." Lily said, going over to her sister and waking her up. Once the half-asleep teenager had been updated, the group split up. Sam and Carter stayed in Ohio in case there were any more killings while Dean and Lily traveled in the Impala to Indiana.

Because Carter was still in school, though she had been taken out of Creekwater High School after the demon incident, the hunters, Pastor Jim, and Maria had decided on homeschooling her. Carter wasn't completely thrilled with the idea, but decided it was better than going to an actual school and dealing with high school drama.

Sam had decided he would teach Carter since Dean hated school and Lily admitted she was horrible at teaching things, whether it was history or how to shoot a gun. Plus, he knew what it was like to move around and switch schools all the time so he could sympathize.

Carter had had to take an online test so Sam could see where she was in the learning department. After viewing the results, Carter was above average in everything but math, which happened to be one of Sam's best subjects.

"I don't even see why I need to know anything about freaking Pre-Algebra!" Carter half-shouted in frustration as she rubbed her tired eyes. Sam had been trying to review with her for the past thirty minutes.

"Because one day you'll use it." Sam told her, biting back his own frustration. For some reason the fourteen year old just wasn't getting it. "Like in actual Algebra."

The teen slammed her head on the small table provided by the motel room. "Kill me now!" she said. "Just end my suffering!"

"Carter, this isn't suffering." Sam told her, grabbing her head before she could hit the table again. "And stop that, you'll give yourself a concussion or something." He released her head and the teen stared up at the ceiling, refusing to look at the math anymore. "Come on, Car. How about this, let's take a break."

Carter was up and out of her seat in record time. Sam rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, maybe this was going to be harder than he thought.

An hour later and the two were working on history, Carter's best subject. Sam had almost suggested they just skip the history since Carter seemed to know it all, but this also seemed to be her favorite subject and he knew it'd be a bit cruel to cut it.

Dean and Lily had left late the previous night so they would arrive in Indiana early enough to talk to the man they were interviewing, a detective that worked on Mary Worthington's murder. This meant Sam and Carter had a long time to work on school stuff. Sam was smart enough to not bring math back up, and instead focused on history, English, and a little of science. For lunch they went to a local diner and ate then went to walk through the snowy park. After that, Sam bought the local newspaper to look for any more deaths and they returned to the motel to watched TV or read until Lily and Dean got back.

"Anything?" Carter questioned the two when they'd taken their jackets off.

"Well," Lily began, sitting down beside her sister on one of the two beds, "We know she died March 29th, with her eyes cut out. The detective that worked on the case had a file of all the details of the apartment where Mary Worthington lived by herself. There was a mirror she died in front of with three letters spelled out in blood: T-R-E."

Dean picked up where Lily left off, "She was dating a surgeon named Trevor Sampson. Thing is, Trevor's wife didn't know he was having an affair. Apparently Worthington's last diary entry was about her telling Sampson's wife about the affair. But the police didn't have enough evidence to convict Sampson."

"Okay, so did you salt and burn her?" Sam asked quickly.

"She was cremated." Lily said. "But we do know where the mirror is. Apparently Mary's brother sold the mirror she died in front of…one week ago to a store in Toledo, Ohio."

Carter nodded, "So Mary dies in front of a mirror and it sucks in her spirit? Isn't that what all the legends say and that's why when someone dies they used to cover up the mirrors?"

"But how is she jumping around, though? Dean thinks if we can find the Mary mirror and smash it we should be good."

"Worth a shot." Sam shrugged.

"So how was school with Mr. Winchester?" Lily laughed.

Before Carter or Sam could reply, Sam's cell phone went off. He answered it with a quick greeting before saying, "Charlie? Okay, okay just calm down. We'll come and get you and take you somewhere safe." He stayed on the phone with Charlie while the hunters loaded into the Impala and retrieved the girl from her school where she was in an abandoned janitor's closet. They took her back to Sam and Dean's room and covered up anything with a reflection.

"We need to deal with this, preferably now." Lily commented to her younger sister, watching as Sam threw a couple towels over the last mirror in the room.

**A/N: I know nothing about homeschooling, well I don't know any of the details. All I literally know is: 1) It's done outside of an actual school except for state tests 2) A tutor, parent, or legal guardian usually does the teaching. I'm just taking this and rolling with it. If I mess something up and you can tell me in a polite way, I promise to fix it.**


	10. I Know What You Did Last Summer Part 3

_**The Legacy of Hunters**_

_**Chapter Ten: I Know What You Did Last Summer Part 3**_

**Toledo, Ohio**

Sam was quietly comforting Charlie, who had her eyes hidden despite the fact the reflections were covered, while Dean grabbed a phonebook and looked up the address of the antique store Mary's mirror had been sold to. Once he had the address he tore the page out of the book and tucked it into his jeans pocket.

"Charlie," Lily said gently, walking over to the girl. Sam had convinced her to uncover her eyes but she was shaking slightly. "We need you to tell us what happened. The secret."

The girl sniffed and nodded a bit reluctantly, "I had been d-dating this guy, and I l-loved him. But he sc-scared me a little, y-ya know?" She swallowed and continued on with her story, "On-ne night we were at his house and g-got into this huge fight. I broke up with h-him and he said, "Charlie, if you break up with me I'll kill myself." A-A-And I told him I didn't care." Charlie sniffed again, "I didn't think he'd really do it."

No one was quite sure what to say, so they said nothing as Charlie closed her eyes and started to sob. The hunters waited until Charlie cried herself to sleep before discussing their next plan of action.

"I agree with Dean, we smash the mirror and Mary shatters with it." Carter whispered loud enough for the others to hear her but quiet enough so she wouldn't disturb Charlie.

Lily nodded, "Sounds like a good idea."

Sam, on the other hand, looked a bit reluctant. "I'm not so sure, you guys. Mary moves around from mirror to mirror, right? Well, who's to say she doesn't just hide in another mirror since we can't pin her down?"

"So what do you want us to do? Go kill someone then pin her down in one mirror?" Carter asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I summon her myself then we smash the mirror."

The hunters stared in silence at the youngest Winchester. He shifted slightly, but stood his ground.

"Something we don't know about, Sam?" Carter questioned to break the sudden silence, wondering if Sam had killed someone on accident then covered it up. Then the fourteen year old scolded herself, she shouldn't jump to conclusions. For all she knew it could have been a car accident, like with Charlie's friend Jill.

"This is about Jess, isn't it?" Dean sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. He opened his green eyes again and crossed his arms before he said, "Sam, this has got to stop. The nightmares, the blaming yourself, and the calling her name in the middle of the night."

The first time Sam had a nightmare when Lily and Carter were present was on their way to Toledo in the Impala. To say Carter had been scared would be an understatement. Sam had been screaming and Dean nearly drove the car into another car. Fortunately, he'd been able to shake his brother awake and get control of the vehicle again. There'd only been one other nightmare that Carter knew of, which had occurred just outside of Toledo. Later, Dean had explained to the two sisters that Sam's girlfriend, Jessica, had died in a fire a few months back and Sam was still having nightmares about it.

"If you want to blame someone," Dean went on, "Blame the thing that killed her. Hell, blame me! I'm the one who dragged you away from her."

"I don't blame you." Sam said immediately, honestly.

Carter ran Dean's words through her head again. 'Blame the thing that killed her.' Last time she checked, a fire wasn't qualified as a thing. A thing sounded more like a creature, a monster. Maybe there was more to the story that Dean was leaving out. She caught Lily's eye and knew Lily had noticed the oldest Winchester's slip.

"Besides, I know about Jessica's death so it's not a secret."

Sam shook his head, "I haven't told you everything, Dean."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, I haven't told you everything."

"What?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret." Sam pointed out softly, adverting his brother's eyes. The oldest son looked taken aback. Dean raised both of his eyebrows before saying,

"Fine. Whatever. You can summon the chick in the mirror." Despite his words, Dean did not look happy about letting his brother summon Bloody Mary.

Lily wrote a note out for Charlie, telling her they had gone to take care of the supernatural problem and to stay in the room and if there was any problem to call them. She put it beside the girl so she'd see it when she woke up. The four hunters then made their way to the Impala in an uncomfortable silence. Sam's 'secret' had everyone a bit tense.

Dean drove, like usual, but this time there was no 80's music in the car. The only thing that made a sound was the rain pounding on the windows. Well, that, and the Impala's engine. No one said anything until after Sam picked the lock of the antique store.

"Fan-freaking-tastic." Carter said sarcastically. Half the store was made up of mirrors, so finding the specific mirror was going to be a long, tedious task. Equipped with a flashlight, and in Dean's case a crowbar, the hunters got a look at the crime scene picture Dean had received from the detective that worked on Mary's case and began their search.

"Hope no one breaks any of these, we don't need any bad luck." Lily whispered to her sister as the two made their way down an aisle of mirrors.

"I second that."

Several minutes passed before Dean finally called out, "Maybe they already sold it." At the same time Sam hollered, "I found it!"

Lily and Carter made their way to Sam and were quickly joined by Dean. Sam looked between the picture and the mirror, making sure it was the right one. It was a pretty big mirror, square, and had a swirly golden frame around the glass.

"Sure looks like it," Dean let out a breath and looked at his brother, "You sure about this, Sammy?"

Sam gave him a look and handed him the flashlight, stepping up to the mirror. Dean tapped him on the shoulder and gifted his brother with the crowbar. A quick nod of thanks and Sam said, "Bloody Mary…Bloody Mary…." He lifted the crowbar up, shook out his head, and prepared himself. Carter swallowed, glancing around the mirrors and preparing herself to use her own flashlight to bust the mirrors just in case. "Bloody Mary."

A few seconds passed and nothing happened. Carter could feel the adrenaline pumping into her veins. She rolled her shoulders as Lily and Dean lifted their own flashlights, checking out the mirrors for any signs of Mary.

Carter had to hold back a jump when a bright light shone from behind them. Dean glanced between the light and his brother, "I'll go check that out you guys just smash anything that moves." And with that said, the oldest Winchester brother ran off to investigate.

"So does that mean I can hit Lily?" Carter questioned lightly. She sensed rather than saw Lily roll her eyes.

With no warning, Sam suddenly hit a nearby mirror with his crowbar.

"What the hell?" Carter shouted, obviously surprised.

"Language, Carter Alyson Graves!" Lily half-yelled, but anyone could tell she was just as shocked as her younger sister.

Sam swung again, "Didn't you see that?"

"No!"

"I'm taking it only Sam can see since it's his soul, his secret and all that stuff." Carter ran a hand over her face and let the hand with the flashlight fall to her side. How were they going to help Sam if they couldn't see Mary?

"Lily, eight o'clock!" Sam hollered out. Instinctively, Lily swung her flashlight in the direction Sam had yelled.

_Good thinking, Sam_. Carter praised mentally, knowing when all this was over she'd tell Sam he did a good job with the quick thinking.

"Carter, one o'clock!"

The fourteen year old hit the mirror in it's center, sending the pieces shattering to the floor.

Sam re-gripped his crowbar and faced the original Mary mirror, "Come on, come into this one." He waited a moment and he cocked his head to the side as if seeing something strange about his reflection.

"Sam?" Lily called his name out softly, "You doing okay?"

The twenty-two year old didn't respond, causing the hunters to share a quick look with one another. A quiet gasp had the oldest of the girls rushing over to the youngest Winchester to find his eyes bleeding and his grip on the crowbar slacking. The crowbar hit the ground with a 'thud'.

"Shit, shit." Lily said, "Which effing mirror is it?"

Sam slid to the floor, clutching his chest.

There was one downside to Lily in 'hunter mode', as Carter had learned ever since the two had met. If she got involved too much with the victims, she was prone to panic. Not that Carter had never panicked on a hunt involving someone she knew, but Lily wouldn't think straight. So, Carter was only slightly surprised when Lily picked up her flashlight and began smashing any mirror in sight.

"Lily, the original mirror!" Carter shouted, knowing her sister was closer to the mirror. Finally, Lily shattered the Mary mirror. At that second, Dean chose to make an appearance. He ran into the store and got on his knees beside his brother.

"Sammy! Sammy!" he called out, taking his brother's face in his hands.

"It's Sam." The shaggy haired man reminded him half-heartedly.

"You okay? Can you walk?"

Sam nodded and with Lily and Dean's help got to his feet. Carter grabbed the flashlights and crowbar and followed the trio as they helped Sam begin to walk. The sound of crunching glass had everyone slowly turn around.

There, crawling out of the mirror was one of the most freakish things Carter had ever seen in her fourteen years. It was a creepy figure with pale white skin, black hair, and dressed in tattered gray rags. Lily reached out and grabbed Carter's arm, pulling her beside the blond girl. Mary stood up and began making her way to the hunters, slowly as if she had a broken leg.

Carter felt her gut twist as something wet began leaking from her eyes. Already knowing it was blood, a sharp pain ran through her chest. She clenched her jaw shut as she saw Sam, already injured, sink down to the floor for the second time that night. Lily was next, then Carter, and finally Dean. They were all letting out sounds of pain as Mary took her time getting to the group. Carter saw movement to her right and turned her head.

Dean had grabbed a mirror and was holding it up, facing Mary. The fourteen year old turned back to Mary and watched as the creature's eyes bled and she melted, turning into small pieces of glass. Dean tossed the mirror he was holding out in front of him, letting it break.

_Thank God for Winchester thinking_, she thought gratefully.

The teenager felt the pains in her body fade away quickly and managed to pull herself to her feet. Using the edge of her shirt sleeve, she wiped as much blood as she could from her face.

Dean and Lily were in good enough shape to assist Sam since he had been hit the longest and hardest by Mary's attacks. They got outside and Carter almost tripped over the unconscious body of a police man. "Uh…Dean?"

He gave her a grin, but didn't clarify. Once everyone was safely in the car, Dean asked, "So…what didn't you tell me about Jessica's death?"

Sam swallowed and hesitantly said, "Some things I need to keep to myself, Dean."


	11. Guilt

The Legacy of Hunters

Chapter 11: Guilt

Blue Earth, Minnesota

Pastor Jim Murphy waited patiently in his kitchen, a cup of coffee in his hands. It was only last night when he had received a phone call from Dean Winchester, telling the older man that they needed a place to stay. Jim immediately told him he and the others were more than welcomed at his cabin in Blue Earth.

Dean hadn't gone into detail about their recent hunt, but the pastor figured it had to be pretty bad since Dean was looking for a place to recover so suddenly and out of the blue.

The familiar sound of the Impala pulled Jim out of his thoughts. He left the kitchen table and went to greet the hunters.

The Winchester brothers climbed out of the Impala and went to the backseat. After helping Lily out of the car, the two assisted her up the stairs. The young woman was barely able to walk; it looked more like the Winchesters were carrying her than anything else. Pastor Jim told them, "Just put her in the living room, boys." He looked back to the Impala to see a dejected looking Carter climb out of the car and make her way to the cabin.

She didn't say anything, just gave him a small nod before entering the home. Pastor Jim sighed and followed the teen inside.

Sam and Dean had put Lily on the couch and were now standing behind said couch.

"What happened?" Maria demanded as she walked into the living room to see the sight of her niece on the couch. Lily's shirt was covered in blood and her jeans were ripped where more blood seemed to be covering the clothing.

When no one made a move to answer, Maria repeated the question. Carter left the room, an expression on her face Jim had never seen before on the teen.

"Shape-shifter," Dean answered Maria, glancing around the room. "The blood's probably from when we moved her, pulled some stitches out."

"Let's get her patched up," Jim said quickly, "While I'm doing that we'll listen to the story. Dean, go get wet rags and dry rags. Sam, bandages and my stitching things." The men went to retrieve the materials requested while Maria kneeled beside Lily and began talking quietly to her.

Pastor Jim heard the back door slam shut just as Sam and Dean returned. The oldest hunter sighed, wondering what happened on this hunt that had everyone so worked up.

"I'll take care of Lily," Maria sent him a gentle smile; "You go talk to Carter."

Jim returned her smile and made his way to the kitchen and out the back door of his cabin. He looked around, searching for any sign of where the fourteen year old would possibly go. The pastor figured she was smart enough to stay out of the woods, so he didn't even bother checking that area. Jim shifted through his memories, remembering all the places the Winchester brothers would go when they were upset and visited Blue Earth.

Dean would usually stick closer to the cabin, knowing he'd be in trouble for going out of his father's shouting distance. Sam had always ventured further, more interested in the sights and relaxation than being on time for his family's departure from Minnesota.

Taking a deep breath, Jim Murphy gathered as much information as he could about Carter Graves. From what he'd seen firsthand and from what Maria had told him, Carter enjoyed having a calm place to think. Going with a gut instinct, Pastor Jim ran a hand through his hair and left the porch of his cabin. He made his way down past old, rusted swings and to a dirt path with a sign on the left of the road. Seeing fresh footprints, he knew he'd made the right decision.

Once he reached the graveyard, the pastor saw the coal haired girl sitting against one of the trees, staring at the graves.

"Almost every Murphy in my family is buried here," Jim stated in a normal tone. Carter jumped slightly, but didn't say anything. Jim put his hands in his pockets and walked over to the teenager before sitting on the ground beside her. For the longest time, they just sat together. Jim wasn't going to push the girl to talk; she'd talk when she was ready. That was one thing being around to occasionally help raise the Winchesters had taught him about teens.

"Did they tell you what happened?" Carter asked softly, glancing at the man. "On the hunt, I mean."

Jim shook his head, "I decided to come find you. Maybe you can fill me in?"

She put her head in her hands before saying, "We were in St. Louis, one of Sam's friends from Stanford emailed Sam about her brother going to jail for murder. Neither of them thought he'd done it, so we went to St. Louis. Sam volunteered us to check it out because Becky swore up and down her brother was with her when his girlfriend was murdered.

"There were a couple more murders and I wasn't too sure if it was a serial killer or somethin' supernatural, but the alleged murderers were able to prove they were in two places at once"

"Shape-shifter," Jim nodded, Sam's earlier words clicking in his brain.

"Yeah," Carter confirmed, "Eventually we were able to have a run in with it, and we all split up into four directions—which now that I think about it was stupid. Anyway, we get back to the car and Sam and Dean were still missing. Lily and I called them both several times before she drove us back to the motel we were staying in.

"A couple hours later, Dean calls us and says he and Sam would explain everything at Becky's house. We go over to Becky's house and Dean's there, pointing a gun at us. He does the whole, 'I plan to kill you' spiel. Lily and I are able to distract him all while Becky calls the cops and informs them that Dean Winchester is trying to kill us.

"Then the real Dean and Sam show up. Becky just about freaks out at seeing two Dean Winchesters, but Sam calms her down enough so she doesn't completely have some sort of panic attack.

"Dean and…not-Dean start fighting and I pull my gun out." She sends another glance at the pastor, "I didn't know which Dean was Dean, Pastor Jim. They looked the same and even talked the same. My gut told me one thing and my head told me another.

"Sam's telling me to shoot because he doesn't have his gun. He and Dean got taken by the shape-shifter Dean. Lily's got her gun out too and is torn between shooting, just like I am. Dean takes a hit to the head and gets dazed while shape-shifter Dean attacks Lily, but I didn't know. Shape-shifter Dean acts like he's casually walking over to her not like he's gonna kill her.

"Which," she snorted humorlessly, "Knowing Dean, I should have known he would have made a move to actually kill the shape-shifter, not just stun it. Sam must have figured it out because he told me to shoot the Dean coming towards us. Shape-shifter Dean gets close enough to pull a knife on Lily before she shoots the thing herself. And here we are, in good ole Blue Earth, Minnesota."

Pastor Jim soaked up the information and asked, "So why do you feel so guilty, Carter?"

A tortured expression flew across her face, "I couldn't pull the trigger because I didn't know, Pastor Jim!" she shouted, "I didn't know if it was Dean or not, and because of my hesitation Lily got hurt! I should've listened to Sam when he told me to shoot!"

"Carter, it isn't your fault. Your sister obviously had the same hesitation about Dean and she heard Sam telling the two of you to shoot, too. She wasn't sure if it was the real Dean, just like you. There is no one to blame here."

The teen took that into deep consideration. She turned her head back to looking at the graves. "Sam and Dean told us some things about when they were growing up, how their dad treated them like soldiers. Maybe…maybe that was a good thing."

Jim raised an eyebrow. He'd never completely agreed with John Winchester's child raising theories. He and other close hunter friends had tried several times to get John to reconsider, but the man was stubborn as an ox. "How so?"

Carter swallowed, "I'm just saying…I understand why he wanted Dean and Sam to follow orders. He had the experience and he was in charge, if they hesitated during a hunt…people could get hurt or even die. It sucks that he could be more of a drill sergeant that a dad, but in this certain lifestyle…that isn't all that bad, I don't think."

The pastor wasn't sure what to say, so he changed the subject, "Can I ask why you chose a graveyard to come to?"

Carter smiled slightly, "They're calm, peaceful. Plus, every town has one. Which means, I always have a place to run off to so I can escape everything for a little while. Little ironic that I want to escape the supernatural drama by coming to a graveyard, I know. But, hey, it works." She paused for a few moments, "Even more ironic that my last name is Graves." The teen sent the pastor a glance, "And sometimes, don't take offense Pastor Jim, but sometimes talking to gravestones can be a lot easier than talking to people that are still alive."

Jim sighed quietly to himself as he stood up, brushing the dirt from his pants. "I'm going to go back to the cabin, when you're ready to come back…you know the way."

"Alright," Carter replied softly, pulling her knees up to her chest and continuing to look at the graves.

A/N: Alright, I have re-written this chapter several times. Originally it was my own hunt. Then, it was the episode 'Skin'. Then it turned into more of a paraphrase of 'Skin' by Carter. I felt the need to throw in some Pastor Jim and the whole 'Carter likes graveyards' thing. I tried having a Dean and Carter moment in a graveyard, where she and Lily have a fight and Dean patches things up. But, I kind of like this version. I'm thinking I'm still gonna have that Dean and Carter moment later on, though.


	12. The Truth

**Sorry for long wait.  
**

**The Legacy of Hunters**

**Chapter Twelve: The Truth**

_Blue Earth, Minnesota_

"You okay?" Lily asked her younger sister. The older hunter was currently vacating one of the beds in the guest room Jim had allowed the sisters to share during their stay. Carter had just walked into the room when she noticed her sister.

"Yeah, fine." The thirteen year old replied with a quick smile, "How're the stitches?"

Lily shrugged, "Fine. Maria did a good job patching me up, actually."

"That's good," Carter cleared her throat, sitting on her own bed and looking around the room randomly.

The blond woman held back a sigh of frustration and annoyance. It'd been three days since the St. Louis incident and Carter was still acting like Lily's injuries were her fault. Despite everyone in the household repeatedly telling the teen nothing was her fault, Carter was still taking the blame. "Car, I think we should talk…again."

Carter groaned and looked her sister in the eye, "We've been over this three times, Lily. No, it was not my fault you got hurt. Yes, I should stop blaming myself. I get it already!"

"Obviously not, Carter! You're still sulking around half the time. Hell, you've barely said a word since St. Louis!" Lily was now standing up, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at her younger sibling. "So don't try and tell me you don't feel guilty—you do!"

Sheepishly, Carter ran a hand over her face, "Just a little. But that's not all, Lils. I've just…been…I dunno." She made a vague gesture with her hands then stopped, shaking her head and standing up. "Never mind, it's not important." Carter had been having nightmares about the shape-shifter and the events that could have happened that night.

"Sit down." Lily sternly pointed a finger at Carter's bed.

"Dude, you're not my mother." The thirteen year old left the room, ignoring the calls from her sister to 'get her butt back in the room'. She went to the living room where Sam was sitting in a corner in a comfortable chair, concentrating on a drawing in his hands. "Hey, Sam,"

The man didn't respond, but continued to draw.

"It's good to see you too," Carter rolled her eyes, going over to the youngest Winchester and looking at his drawing. "Nice tree. I've never been good at the art stuff. But, I do draw a mean sailboat if I do say so myself—"

"I've seen this before." Sam suddenly stated, jumping up from his chair and running out of the room. Lily made her own way into the room, angrily looking at her sister. Before she could say anything, Sam returned with the famous John Winchester's journal. "Dean!" he hollered, tossing the journal on the table along with his pencil and the picture of the tree. "Dean! Get in here!"

Dean came down the wood stairs of the cabin, papers in his hands. "I was just about to come get you guys," he informed them as he hit the bottom of the steps. "Found some possible hunts for us. This one guy shot himself in the head," he held out three fingers, "three times."

"Wow-" Carter was cut off by Sam.

Sam tore open the journal and shifted through several things before pulling an old photo out. "Dean, I know where we have to go next. We're going back home—to Kansas."

The older brother gave Sam a look, throwing the papers in his hands to the couch. "Okay, random. Why?"

"This photo, it was taken in front of our old house, right? Where Mom died?" Sam asked, handing the picture over to Dean. Carter and Lily moved closer out of curiosity. The only thing the girls knew about the Winchesters' mother was that she was killed in a house fire, like Jessica. But, Carter wasn't completely sure they were getting the full story. It was a little coincidental that Dean said both women were killed in a house fire.

"Yeah."

Sam continued, "And it didn't burn down. Not completely, I mean. They re-built it."

The older sibling nodded slowly, "Y-yeah, I guess so. What the hell are you talkin' about, Sammy?"

The younger man swallowed, "Look, I know this is gonna sound crazy but…the people that live in our old house…I think they might be in danger."

"And why would you think that, Sam?" Lily asked.

Sam swallowed and turned around, heading for his and Dean's room. "Uh, just trust me on this, guys." The other three hunters shared a look before following the twenty-two year old. When they reached Sam and Dean's room, they found Sam stuffing his clothes from a dresser into a duffel bag.

"Trust you? Come on, man," Dean told his brother, watching him pack, "that's weak. You've gotta give me more than that.

Sam looked up, still shoving clothing into his duffel, "I can't explain it, Dean."

"Tough. I'm not going anywhere until you do."

The shaggy haired man closed his eyes briefly, re-opened them, and explained, "I…have these nightmares."

Dean nodded, "I've noticed."

"And sometimes, they come true."

After a short, stunned silence, Lily said, "Could you say that again, Sam?"

The youngest Winchester quit packing and told the hunters, "I dreamt of Jessica's death days before it happened."

Dean cleared his throat and took a seat on his bed, "Come on, Sam, people have weird dreams all the time. Nothing unusual."

Sam shook his head, "No, I dreamt about the blood, Jess on the ceiling, the fire, all of it. And now I'm dreaming about that tree outside our house and some woman inside screaming for help. "

"Ceiling?" Carter choked out, glaring at Dean. "You told us Jessica died in a house fire."

"I might've smidged the truth a bit." Dean shrugged, "What did you expect me to say? Hi, I'm Dean Winchester and this is my brother Sam. His girlfriend died pinned to the ceiling like our mother." He noticed Sam wince, "Sorry."

Lily put her hands on her hips, "You should start from the beginning, Dean. We were under the impression your mom and Jessica died in a house fire. Not in the same way, pinned to the ceiling."

"Can we get back to my brother seeing the future for a minute, please?"

"So do you think it means something, then?" Carter asked carefully, "Sam's dream, I mean."

"I don't know," Dean ran a hand over his mouth.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sam asked incredulously, "This woman could be in danger. This might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!"

Standing up, Dean half-shouted, "Just slow down." He took a breath and lowered his voice, "Just hold on a minute, Sam. First you tell me that you've got the Shining, then you tell me you want me to go back home? Especially when I…I promised myself I'd never go back there?" He walked over to the window, the picture of his family still clenched in his hands.

"Look, Dean, we have to check this out." Sam half-begged his brother, almost sounding desperate.

Running a hand over his face, Dean replied, "Yeah, I know we do."

Carter swallowed, "Guess we'll go get packed." The half-sisters left the Winchesters to their own packing and made their way to their room. Carter dragged her duffel from under the bed and went to the large dresser she shared with Lily. Pulling her clothes out, she carried them to the black bag and began packing.

Lily cleared her throat after several minutes of silence, "So, what do you think?"

"Care to clarify? There's a lot going on."

"Sam's…dreams. Do you really think he's seeing stuff that hasn't even happened yet?"

Carter shrugged, non-committed, "Couldn't tell ya'. It does sound crazy." _And hunting monsters isn't crazy?_ She mentally pointed out. "Then again, we do crazy stuff on a daily basis."

"True," Lily paused in folding up a pair of jeans, "But…I'm not completely sure what to think about it."

"Let's just go to their home, Kansas, right? Let's go to Kansas, see if Sam really is having these dreams and—"

"That's how he knew it was a trap." Lily cut off her sister, "In Creekwater, at Maria's. He must've seen it in a dream or something."

Carter shrugged, "Maybe, or maybe not. We can ask him later, Lils. I'd rather not rock the boat right now, he and Dean are already acting weird. This can't be easy for them, going to Kansas."

Once everyone was packed, they explained to Maria and Jim that they had gotten lead of a hunt in Kansas. After thanking the pastor for letting them stay for a few days, the hunters climbed into the Impala and began the drive to Lawrence, Kansas.


	13. Chapter 13

_**The Legacy of Hunters**_

_**Chapter Thirteen: Lawrence**_

_**Kansas**_

The trip to Lawrence was slightly tense. With Dean and Sam in the front and Carter and Lily in the back, the only sound was that of Dean nervously tapping his hands on the steering wheel. Dean also made several stops along the way. Carter wasn't sure if he really had to use the bathroom eight times every few hours or if he was just making excuses to put off the trip to his hometown. No one felt the need to mention the frequent stops.

When the hunters finally arrived in Lawrence, Dean drove straight to his family's old home; Carter had never been to Kansas and at least wanted to get a look at the place so she felt the urge to slap Dean on the back of the head but restrained herself. He pulled into the driveway and shut off the Impala. The four climbed out of the car and turned to face Sam and Dean's first real home.

It was a white, two-story house. There was a large tree in the front yard that resembled the picture Sam had drawn in Minnesota. A front porch surrounded the front of the house. In the driveway a small car was parked.

"Ready?" Lily asked, concern coating her voice.

"Now or never." Dean replied as he ran a hand through his hair and followed his younger brother to the front porch, Lily and Carter behind him.

Sam knocked hard on the door and waited for the owner of the home to answer. Not too long after he'd knocked, the door opened to reveal a blond woman. Carter noticed a flicker of recognition pass over the youngest Winchester's face. This had to be the woman he'd been dreaming about.

"Hello, can I help you?" she greeted calmly, putting on a smile.

"Yes ma'am we're—" Dean began but was interrupted by his brother.

"I'm Sam Winchester, this is my brother Dean, and our cousins Lily Tipton and Carter Graves." The shaggy-haired man explained honestly, "Dean and I used to live here and Lily and Carter were over all the time."

_Guess Sam's calling the shots now_, Carter mentally rolled her eyes. It wasn't always the best idea to be completely honest with people in their line of work.

The blond nodded, "Winchester? It's kind of funny; I think I found some of your photos the other night."

"You did?" Dean asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, come on in. I'll go get them." She led the hunters through the home, oblivious to the fact that Dean's eyes were roaming around. When they arrived in a green painted kitchen, two children were already in there. A little girl sat at the table, coloring, and a younger boy was bouncing up and down in a playpen repeatedly saying, "Juice! Juice!"

"That's Ritchie," the home-owner explained with a smile, crossing the kitchen and retrieving a juice box. She took it to the boy and patted him on the head, "He's a bit of a juice-junkie." The mother went to the table to stand behind the little girl, "Sarie this is Sam, Dean, Lily, and Carter. Sam and Dean used to live here. And I'm Jenny."

"Hi," the girl greeted shyly.

"Hey, Sarie." Lily returned with a smile.

Dean cleared his throat, "So…you just moved here?" He motioned towards all the boxes and the bareness of the room.

Jenny gave a sad nod, "Yes, all the way from Florida."

"Wow. Big change." Carter noted, "Do you have family here, then?"

"No," Jenny shook her head slowly, "I…I just needed a fresh start. So, new town. New job…as soon as I find one…. And a new house."

Sam decided to change the subject, "So how do you like the place? Is it giving you any problems?"

Jenny grabbed some dishes from the table where her daughter continued to color and said, "With all respect to your childhood home, the place does have some issues." She took the dishware to the sink and rinsed them off.

"Like what?"

"Well," she turned around and leaned on an arm against the sink, "It's just getting old, I guess. Like the wiring; we've got flickering lights almost hourly. The sink's backed up and there are rats in the basement." Jenny caught a look on Dean's face and softened, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to complain."

"No, it's okay." Dean told her with a forced smile, "Have you actually seen the rats or do you just hear scratching?"

"Just the scratching."

Sarie drew the attention away from her mother by saying, "Mom? Ask them if it was here when they lived here."

"Sorry?" Sam asked, glancing at the other hunters as Jenny bent down to eye-level to talk to her daughter.

"Sweetie, there's nothing in your closet." She assured, "Right, guys?"

Dean shook his head, "No, of course not."

Jenny ran a hand over her daughter's head affectionately, "She just had a nightmare the other night."

"It wasn't a nightmare. It walked out of my closet and it was on fire." Sarie insisted. Jenny gave her a small, sad smile.

"How about I get you guys those pictures?" Jenny suggested, standing up straight and telling her children she would be right back. Sam went with Jenny to the basement while the other hunters stayed with the kids.

Carter walked closer to the table and inspected Sarie's picture she had been coloring. A black figure stood out against the white paper, orange and yellow dancing along what resembled a head, two arms, and two legs. "Is this the thing in your closet?" she questioned quietly.

"Yes," Sarie nodded, "It isn't a nightmare, it's real."

The teen had a big decision to make. She could either tell a little girl the monster in her closet was real and possibly traumatize the kid, or Carter could go along with Jenny and say it was just a nightmare.

"It was just a nightmare, Sarie." Carter lied as convincingly as she could manage. "Sometimes nightmares just feel real; that's what makes them so scary."

Footsteps alerted Carter that Jenny and Sam were coming back. Saying goodbyes to Jenny, Sarie, and Ritchie, the hunters exited the old house and returned to the Impala.

"Flickering lights, scratching? Both signs of a malevolent spirit!" Sam insisted as Dean put the vehicle into drive.

"And that Jenny woman was the girl from your dream?" Lily questioned the youngest Winchester.

Sam nodded, "Yes!" he turned to his brother eagerly, "Do you think the thing in the house is what killed Mom and Jessica?"

"I don't know!" Dean half-shouted, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. "Right now I'm a little freaked that you're having visions of people!"

"It could be something entirely different, Sam." Carter said, going back to Sam's question. "Whatever's in there could have been there the whole time or it just randomly came back."

"Or it's what killed them—"Sam persisted.

"Look, you two are too close to the case." Lily stated loudly, "Let's take a step back. If this was any other job what would we do?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair, "Try to figure out what we're dealing with."

"So we look into the history of the house." Carter suggested reasonably.

Dean looked at her in the rearview mirror, "But we already know what happened there."

"Maybe something else happened before your mom died."

"Dad would've checked into it," Dean shook his head, returning his eyes to the road, "He did a bunch of research as soon as he found out something killed our mom."

Lily thought for a second, "Well, how much do you remember about that night?"

For a few moments Carter thought Dean wasn't going to answer, then he said, "I remember the heat, the fire. I went into Sam's room, Mom was pinned on the ceiling. Then I carried Sam out the front door. That's it."

"You carried me out?" Sam asked. Carter knew Mary Winchester's death was a bit of a touchy subject, especially to Dean since he had memories of his mother and father before hunting. She understood completely that Sam probably didn't have much information on that night since he was six months old and his family didn't like to talk about it.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, glancing at Sam, "You never knew that?"

Sam shook his head, slowly.

"And you know Dad's story as well as I do. He couldn't get to Mom, her stomach was sliced open and bleeding."

Lily asked, "So did he ever have any theories about what killed her? Anything at all?"

Dean shrugged, "If he did he kept it to himself, God knows we asked him enough times."

When the hunters pulled over at a gas station, Dean went to the bathroom and Sam filled up the Impala. A few moments passed and Carter left the car, telling Lily she was going to go to the bathroom and they should stop letting her have so many liquids on road trips. The teen headed to where she'd seen Dean disappear. When she turned the corner she stopped, seeing Dean on a cell phone.

"—I don't know what to do," he said. He sounded so heart-broken Carter felt a slight pain in her chest for him. "So, whatever you're doing…if you could get here…please. I need your help, Dad." Carter knew Sam and Dean had tried at least ten times each to attempt to reach John Winchester, each time a failure. As she watched Dean hang up, the fourteen year old turned around quickly and went into the store so Dean wouldn't catch her.

After making sure Dean had returned to the Impala, Carter went to the bathroom and did her business. While she washed her hands, the teen sent a silent prayer to God: _God, if we could at least…I don't know, get a lead on Dean and Sam's dad, that'd be perfect. You don't have to gift wrap him to us but…help would be nice. Please. _

Carter went back to the black car and climbed into the vehicle.

She remained in the car as Sam, Dean, and Lily interviewed old friends and co-workers of John and Mary's. The adults later told Carter that the only useful information they got was that John had gone to see a palm reader. They stopped by a phone booth and looked up local palm readers in the phone book.

When Sam read the name 'Missouri Mosley', Lily and Carter's heads turned in unison.

"What? You know her?" Dean raised an eyebrow, leaning into the Impala and grabbing his father's journal, "Thought you two had never been to Lawrence before?"

"I haven't," Lily said, glancing at her half-sister.

"But I have met Missouri and Lily has talked to Missouri Mosley." Carter informed the brothers nervously. "I know her personally and Lily's talked to her over the phone a few times. She's the one that sent us to Blackwater Ridge."

Sam looked a bit taken aback and put the phone book down, returning to where the three other hunters were standing around the Impala. "You said Maria sent you to Colorado."

"She did." Lily nodded, "And Missouri told Maria to send us there."

Carter cleared her throat, "Look, Missouri was visiting my dad to help him out with some stuff. I...she sent me in Lily's direction. After that she called Maria and told her to send us to Blackwater Ridge on a certain date, Maria wouldn't tell us until that day came."

"Why weren't you guys together?" Dean questioned as Sam went to the passenger side of the car. "Why did she tell the two of you to meet up?"

The two girls shared a look before Lily explained, "We told you guys we were half-sisters, right? Well, I didn't meet Carter until after Missouri had her call me about a month before Colorado. She was living with our father while I was lived with my mom and later on my aunt."

"And where's your dad now, Carter?" Sam inquired.

The fourteen year old shrugged, "How should I know?"

"Let's just back up a sec, what exactly did she tell you to do?"

"Missouri told me to ditch my dad, but in much nicer terms, and go with Lily." Carter answered as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"You just dropped everything and left?"

Carter swallowed and looked away, "You guys don't know the full story and this isn't the time or place for it."

"She's right," Sam sighed heavily, ignoring the look his brother gave him that said 'What?' "Jenny and her kids might be in danger." He noticed Dean holding John's journal and he asked what his brother was doing.

Dean flipped the book open and read, "Right here the first sentence of the first page says: 'I went to Missouri, and I learned the truth'. I always thought he meant the state."

"So we need to talk to this Missouri Mosley lady?"

"Sounds like a plan." Dean tossed the journal back into the front seat of the Impala and turned back to the half-sisters, "Don't think this conversation is over."

Sam went back to the phonebook and ripped out the address for Missouri Mosley.

The hunters climbed back into the vehicle, though Carter and Lily were a bit reluctant, and drove towards the address.

"So it wasn't a real accident that we met." Dean said absently.

"No, Missouri sent us." Lily replied, clearing her throat awkwardly. The group fell back into a silence until they reached their destination.

**So a bit of Carter's past is revealed...dun dun dun!**

**Also, I'm sorry it's been so long between updates instead of the regular 'every Friday' I had originally planned on. I'm re -writing chapters 22-24 because I don't like how they play out. I'm going to try and tie up the story after that because I feel I don't really need the extra stuff.**


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